As the famous Sufi poet Jalal al-Din al-Rumi (d. 1273) once said, “Listen with ears of tolerance, see through eyes of compassion, speak with the language of love” [1]. It was Rumi’s mystical falling in love with God that animated his affective poetry. For many a modern-day observer, however, the connotations of such words as “religion” and “God” would seem divisive and sectarian beyond any hope. There are, however, two prominent theologians of our time who demonstrate that religion and inclusivism are not mutually exclusive: the Canadian philosopher and Catholic theologian Bernard Lonergan (1904-1984) and the Turkish Islamic intellectual Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1873-1960). The two have wielded, and still do, considerable influence upon their respective religious milieus, presenting original and yet faithful interpretations of their respective traditions that are sensitive to the intellectual and spiritual exigencies of modernity. The two showed that their interpretations of religious experience are conducive to peacemaking and interreligious dialogue.

During his lifetime, Nursi several times reached out to Christian leaders, the most important instances being sending his works to Pope Pius XII in 1950 and visiting the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras in Istanbul in 1953 [2]. Further, despite constant state persecution and arbitrary imprisonments, Nursi’s whole life exemplified his innovative and yet deeply Islamic notion of a “spiritual” or “educational” jihad (jihad-i manawi), one that never resorts to violence and opposes not physical, but “spiritual” enemies: ignorance, poverty, and division. Fr. Thomas Michel, who worked in the Vatican as a Head of the Office for relations with Muslims from 1981 to 1994, states, “Along with Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Said Nursi must be seen as one of the Twentieth Century’s great exponents of non-violent resistance” [3].

Lonergan, in turn, is an important Neo-Thomist thinker who was once presented on the cover of Time magazine as “one of the finest philosophic thinkers of the twentieth Century” [4]. He worked out a transcendental theory of intentional interiority that allows him to argue that dialogue is a must not only between empirical science and theology but also between different religions and diverse worldviews. This article will demonstrate how the two thinkers base their idea of interreligious dialogue on their interpretations of the inward dimension of their religious traditions as an “infatuation with beauty” and a “falling in love,” as well as analysing how their interpretations can foster interfaith dialogue.

Nursi’s philosophy of interreligious dialogue

The value that Nursi places on accepting and understanding the culturally “Other” can be better portrayed if we attend to his epistemology. Nursi incessantly underscores that all his treatises (generically called the Risale-i Nur [Epistles of Light]) are inspired by the Qur’an: he almost always cites a verse of the Qur’an at the beginning of key passages and provides, through what follows, an exegesis of the verse [5]. His interpretation of the Qur’an, in turn, insistently reverts his reader’s attention to the observed data of the sensible world in order to reveal how the created entities point beyond themselves to the divine “Wholly Other” – so much so that, for Nursi, the entire universe might be seen as a materialized form of the Qur’an [6]. This radiant inward dimension of being is called Malakutiyyah (“Intellective Realm”), whereas the outward dimension of the physical world, Mulkiyyah (“Material Realm”). Malakutiyyah discloses itself to anyone who personally reflects and deliberates (tafakkar) on the design of the world after the model provided by Nursi’s exegesis and with the intention of “finding” God in everything. Nursi allegorically assimilates this “Intellective Realm” to the transparent frontside of the mirror. Even if very different forms – some apparently ugly and some apparently beautiful – “intrude” on the Mulkiyyah side of the “mirror,” its “Intellective” aspect always remains transparent and beautiful, as it looks to the Creator of all beings [7]. On the Malakutiyyah level, all individual entities of the world – humanity first and foremost – constantly and ubiquitously partake of divine holiness thanks to their being loci of Allah’s reflected “Superb Names” (al-Asma’ al-Husna) mentioned in the Qur’an. Even if God’s essence (Zhatullah) is ineffable, the divine names’ observable activity in the world displays divine artistry for anyone willing to intend God through his or her reflective thought. Such a thought will show that, for instance, philosophy is based on the Superb Name Hakim (All-Wise), medicine on the Name Shafi (Healer), and geometry on the Name Muqaddir (Determiner), and so on. The same goes for human perfections and all levels of human virtues – they are founded on the Superb Names [8].

It is this inward “Qur’anic” outlook that allows Nursi to perceive everything in the world as intelligible and dialogic in the sense that all created entities – different as they might be in appearance – are essentially beautiful divine “mirrors” telling something about God and requiring that their observers appreciate them: “Beauty and fairness desire to see and be seen. Both require the existence of yearning witnesses and bewildered admirers” [9]. This yearning and this admiration show all things as inwardly lovable and allows Nursi to say, “Love is the cause of the universe’s existence and is what binds it; and it is both the light of the universe and its life. Since man is the most comprehensive fruit of the universe, a love that will conquer the universe has been included in his heart, the seed of that fruit” [10].

Of course, Nursi’s constant focus on his “Qur’anic lenses” might invoke – in some people’s minds – a sense of absolutism and inability to learn from the culturally Other. To ward off such a possibility, Nursi bases his idea of beings as “mirrors of God” on two aspects. First, in the same way as the darkness serves as a foil for the beauty of light to manifest, the impotence of human beings – their weaknesses, shortcomings, and mistakes – serve as a foil for the power of the All-Powerful, All-Subsistent and Perfect One to manifest His Names all the more intensively. So, Nursi warns that the believer is to use the reflective thought to see how the Superb Names self-manifest through things and through his or her own being, not in things or in his or her being, lest he or she come to deify or absolutize his or her personality, culture, or nationality [11]. Secondly, human beings are only mirrors to the Names, not the authentic possessors thereof [12]. (That is to say, humans, thanks to their self-awareness and if they are not self-conceited, are able to compare their activity/attributes with those of the Transcendent and come to appreciate the latter’s awe-inspiring beauty, i.e. come to know God. Someone who has built a physical house and self-identifies as a “builder,” for instance, can profoundly admire the One who has built the magnificent Universe.) Our “mirror-like” nature, however, manifests the Superb Names only in an incomplete manner; for Nursi, we “possess” them in a metaphorical, partial, and temporary manner. This, in turn, means that our “mirror-like” natures are inherently open to learn from the manifestations of the Superb Names within other cultures and religions.

This being the case, for Nursi, no animosity can make serious inroads in the minds of those who can contemplate the Real in this vein. Even if someone does not accept the Real as such, this “someone” remains His mirror, epiphany, and masterpiece, which means that he or she is to be ontologically appreciated, not violated against. However, in Nursi’s view, one is able to realize this sense of appreciation of the world only if one purifies one’s sense of self – which he calls “I-ness” (anā) – from any egocentrism. If anā looks at one’s selfhood with an attitude that is self-indicative rather than God-indicative, the entirety of the reflections of the Names come to be attributed to the human person’s ego, thereby giving rise to spiritual ignorance and intolerance [13].

Lonergan’s philosophy of interreligious dialogue

The very heart of Lonergan’s take on interreligious dialogue rests in what he calls “GEM” (“Generalized Empirical Method”): it provides a basis not only for any interdisciplinary cooperation, but for interreligious dialogue as well. It presupposes that, at least theoretically, the disinterested desire to know and wonder – which is pertinent to all humans as long as they are humans and not only scientists, historians of religion, or theologians – drives all humans to be attentive to data, intelligent in understanding, reasonable in judgments, and responsible in decisions [14]. Lonergan’s system proposes that the very structure of the interlocutors’ intentional consciousness leads them to seek what is authentic and true in the ways of the religious Other and to anticipate the possibility of “integrated understanding” between various religious traditions. Further, the interlocutors should see any differences, obvious as they are at first glance, as “genetic,” i.e., reconcilable, rather than “dialectic,” i.e., irreconcilable. Any point-blank refusal of the interlocutors to see the existence of at least some important similarities with the Other, signals, for Lonergan, an unauthenticity of their own thinking due to its affliction with one or several biases [15]. That is, the powerful drive of the interlocutors’ disinterested desire to wonder in an unrestricted manner might be frustrated by one or several of the following four biases. The first one is dramatic bias, that is, the existence of psychic aberrations or underdevelopment within the interlocutors caused by their “psychic wounds.” The second one is egoistic bias, i.e., one’s self-centeredness that refuses to allow for even a minimal degree of self-abnegation necessary to consider the common good. The third one is collective bias that “favors what is best for the group at the expense of others outside the group.” The fourth one is general bias that disregards questions that do not seem to be of immediate practical importance [16].

Further, Lonergan asserts that, if one self-transcends by remaining not only attentive, not only intelligent, not only reasonable, but also responsible (he calls these levels of intentionality as the “four transcendentals”), one comes to be well-positioned to reach the fullness of one’s ontological, axiological, and epistemological horizons by mystically falling “in love with God” in an immediate and unrestricted manner [17]. This love operates within the parameters of one’s intentional interiority, and yet it comes as a free gift of God’s grace that brings about the most genuine state of one’s relation to God, namely a “dynamic state of being in love in an unrestricted manner” [18]. This unmediated experience of God’s love is transcultural as far as its inner nature goes; from the standpoint of different cultural contexts and historical periods, it is mediated differently through different religious and cultural expressions, practices, and traditions [19]. Lonergan calls this experience as the “infrastructure” or “inner word” which ensues upon the Holy Spirit “flooding one’s heart,” and it becomes a hermeneutical toolkit for one’s authentic response to the challenges of interreligious dialogue [20].

Even if this mystical state of “being-in-love” is transcultural, for Lonergan, the Christian claim that religion is being in love with God in an unrestricted manner, renders Christianity unique. Lonergan insists that the “outer word” of the Christian tradition is more than just a religious experience objectified: it was given as revelation, coming from Jesus Christ [21]. That is, for Lonergan, “infrastructure” that informs the very spirit of religious faith, presupposes its mediation and objectification vis-à-vis the world through the “superstructure” of language and beliefs, meanings and values, scripture and sacraments, and community and culture. For him, however, Christian doctrine is this “superstructure” par excellence, and its unique appropriateness cannot be transcended by any universal mystical experience [22]. In other words, for Lonergan, the authoritativeness and structure of this outer word is such that it can be conceived as the most direct mediation of immediacy and becomes, if properly appropriated, “second immediacy” [23].

Differences-in-Similarities

As follows from the abovementioned, the positions of the two thinkers can be broadly identified as “inclusivism.” While they acknowledge that God’s salvific activity can unfold everywhere in the world in an overt or covert manner, they make it clear that, wherever it unfolds, it does so as either the ubiquitous operation of the Qur’anic “Superb Names” (Nursi) or the Christian notion of “love of God flooding our hearts” (Lonergan). Both seem to have realized that most people are never totally detached from their tradition and that any God-talk is bound to be “confessional” – but not necessarily “confessionalist.” Naturally, one starts interreligious dialogue based on the minimal “non-negotiable,” premises of one’s religion.

At first glance, Lonergan’s clear distinction between the “inner word” as pertaining to the “unmediated experience of the mystery of love” and the “outer word” as this love’s mediated expression, allows him to see a somewhat deeper unity behind the differences. For him, the gift of God’s love justifies dialogue with “all Christians, with non-Christians, and even with atheists who may love God in their hearts while not knowing him with their heads” [24]. For Nursi, in contrast, aggressive atheism is evil to be wrestled with by the “Qur’anic sword of persuasion”; it is irreconcilable with genuine civilization. Indeed, he sees an atheistic civilization a contradiction in terms, for genuine civilization is possible only if humans recognize the transcendent meaning of their lives and thus gain in virtue [25].

Yet, the importance of the mystical love of God as the inner telos behind all events is the common point in which the dialectics of their difference might be resolved. Nursi’s overall accent on one’s affective appreciation of the beauty of the world as reflective of the divine beauty, allows one to contextualize his apparently incoherent lack of charity toward atheistically minded people. It might hark back to such facts as his identification of the penetration of atheistic assertions and materialistic ideologies as the root problem facing the Muslim world at the start of the 20^th century or his lack of travel to Europe at the time of peace (he spent 2 years in Russia but only as a prisoner-of-war) [26]. The inner structure of Nursi’s theology makes it incumbent upon his followers – under normal social and political conditions – to pursue meaningful dialogue even with non-religious or atheistic people. Another possibility to reconcile Nursi’s position with that of Lonergan’s is to address the meaning of the word “atheism.” If it denotes, as John Paul II said, “not knowing the true nature of created reality but absolutizing it, and therefore ‘idolizing’ it,” [27] then Lonergan’s discourse on biases would rather concur with Nursi’s strictures on atheism.

Conclusion

As Ian Markham, a Nursi scholar and Episcopal priest says, in order for any interfaith encounter to be meaningful, one has to know, understand, and love one’s own tradition, for one will “find it easy to recognize in others the same depth of commitment and affection” [28]. Indeed, two music enthusiasts (say, one involved in jazz, the other in choral) “can relate much more effectively to each other than with the musical amateur who cannot read music” [29]. One’s discovery of the common “inner dimensions” within different faith-traditions, is greatly facilitated when one first fathoms the profundity of one’s own one. Nursi and Lonergan are deeply in love with their traditions and yet contemplate, through the inner mystical dimensions of their traditions, the beauty of other ways. Even if the “inner dimensions” of the two religions are remarkably transparent and transcultural, there should be some place that can determine the legitimacy (or lack thereof) of insights emerging from one’s encounter with the Other. There is an inward spirit behind any outward form; in order to penetrate to the spirit, however, one first needs the form. One can argue that it is this aspect of both thinkers’ ideas that makes them so appealing to their respective religious milieus today. If Ian Markham says that Nursi’s “Qur’anic” approach could, in principle, be “affirmed by any traditional Muslim,”[30] arguably the same statement can be made about Lonergan, too: his “inner word” can be seen as nothing but a harmonious development of the current position of Catholic church regarding the “seeds of the Word” present and active in different religions.

References

1. Mahmoud Masaeli and Rico Sneller, “Introduction,” in Responses of Mysticism to Religious Terrorism: Sufism and Beyond, ed. Mahmoud Masaeli & Rico Sneller (Oud-Turnhout: Gompel&Svacina, 2020), 8.
2. Thomas Michel, “Muslim-Christian Dialogue and Cooperation in the Thought of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi,” in Said Nursi’s Views on Muslim-Christian Understanding, ed. Shukran Vahide (Istanbul: Soz Basim Yayin, 2005), 36.
3. Thomas Michel, “Dialogue of Ideas between the Thought of Pope John Paul II and the Risale-I Nur,” in Globalization, Ethics, and Islam, ed. Ian Markham and Ibrahim Ozdemir, (London and New York: Routledge, 2005), 44.
4. Gerard Whelan, “The Continuing Significance of Bernard Lonergan,” Thinking Faith, https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20080923_1.htm (accessed August 24, 2021).
5. Ian Markham, An Introduction to Said Nursi: Life, Thought and Writings (Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2011), 18.
6. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Sualar [Rays], (Istanbul: Soz Basim Yayin, 2003), 200.
7. Said Nursi, Signs of Miraculousness (Istanbul: Sozler Publications, 2004), 72, in Colin Turner, The Qur’an Revealed: A Critical Analysis of Said Nursi’s Epistles of Light (Berlin: GerlachPress, 2013), 91.
8. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words: On the Nature and Purposes of Man, Life, and All Things, trans. Sukran Vahide (Istanbul: Sozler Publications, 2008), 655.
9. Nursi, Words, 80.
10. Nursi, Words, 367.
11. Farid al-Ansari, Miftāḥ al-Nūr fī Mafāhīm Rasā’il al-Nūr (Miknas: Jami‘at al-Sulṭān al-Mawlā Ismā‘īl, Kindle Edition), 117-118.
12. Al-Ansari, Miftāḥ, 115.
13. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Al-Mathnawi Al-Nuri: Seedbed of the Light, trans. Huseyin Akarsu (New Jercey: Light, 2007), 376.
14. Bernard Lonergan, Method in Theology, ed. Robert M. Doran and John D. Dadosky (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017), 101-2.
15. John Dadosky, The Structure of Religious Knowing: Encountering the Sacred in Eliade and Lonergan (New York: State University of New York Press, 2004), 35, 38.
16. Bernard Lonergan, Insight: A Study of Human Understanding (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992, 214-5, 242-253.
17. Lonergan, 2017, 105.
18. Dadosky, 2004, 30.
19. Joseph Flanagan, “Lonergan’s New Context for Theology,” Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia 63, (2007), 211 (193-215).
20. Dadosky, 2004, 32.
21. Ibid.
22. William Johnston, The Inner Eye of Love (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, Inc., 1978), 65, in Nancy C. Ring, Doctrine within the Dialectic of Subjectivity and Objectivity: A Critical Study of the Positions of Paul Tillich and Bernard Lonergan, (San Francisco: Mellen Research University Press, 1991), 145-6. Dadosky, 144.
23. Ring, 1991, 147.
24. Lonergan, 2017, 261.
25. Markham, “Secular or Religious Foundations,” in Globalization, Ethics, and Islam, ed. Ian Markham and Ibrahim Ozdemir, (London and New York: Routledge, 2005), 72.
26. Patrice C. Brodeur, “The Ethics of Dediuzzaman Said Nursi’s Dialogue with the West in Light of His Concept of ‘Europe,’” in Globalization, Ethics, and Islam, 89.
27. John Paul II, “General Audience,” Vatican.Va, Wednesday 14 April 1999, accessed Dec. 9, 2021, https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/audiences/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_14041999.html
28. Markham, Ian. Engaging with Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. New York: Routledge, 2016. p. 138.
29. Ibid.
30. Ibid. p. 63.

In his Twentieth Word, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, a 20^th century Islamic scholar and teacher, uses an interesting phrase, where he argues that the miracles of the prophets represent the highest points that scientific developments would ever attain and as such, they are set as goals which humanity should seek to accomplish. In interpreting the verse about the miracles of Jesus, upon whom be peace, in which it is said that Jesus would raise people from the dead by God’s leave, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi indicates that there is a cure to every disease which can be found through research. He also employs an interesting phrase in this section: “It is even possible to give a temporary tinge of life to death” [1]. While some suggest that with this intriguing sentence Nursi points to recent developments in medicine such as those involving organ transplantation or the use of ventilators, it appears that this phrase implies going one stage further.

The Holy Qur’an relates several miraculous events regarding raising the dead in the present, worldly life. In Chapter Baqara (2:67-73), the Holy Qur’an tells us of the incident upon which the chapter was named: Prophet Moses, upon whom be peace, and his people were told by God to slaughter a cow and strike a dead person with part of the slaughtered cow, afterwards the dead man was resurrected and told them who had killed him. Thus, the Qur’an reasserts that God Almighty has the power to resurrect people. Reflecting on this verse, Fethullah Gülen maintains that in addition to the miraculous nature of striking the dead body with a piece of the cow, the mention of this incident may imply that humanity is guided toward a scientific or technological goal [2]. In medicine, biological drugs used to treat certain diseases are produced from certain animals. Also, certain medications, such as insulin, can be produced making use of the ability of bacteria to produce genetically coded proteins. Perhaps, biological drugs to be obtained with the help of other living organisms may contribute to being able to give a temporary tinge of life to death. In this regard, researchers are particularly interested in stem cells and their potentials. In this method, it may be possible to use a person’s stem cells to produce organs, tissues, and replace malfunctioning organs with new ones without the risk of rejection. We have so far heard no positive results in these directions, but it was demonstrated that stem cells taken from a person and transplanted into an embryo of another living being started to grow [3]. God knows best, but this method may be part of the truth behind the act of striking the man’s corpse with a part of a cow in reference to the verse in question.

Chapter Baqarah gives two more examples concerning resurrection in worldly life. A man passed by a town that had fallen into utter ruin and asked himself in bewilderment, “How will God restore life to this town that is now dead?” God made him remain dead for a hundred years and then raised him to life, and asked him, “How long did you remain in this state?” He said: “I remained so for a day or part of a day.” God said, “No, you have rather remained thus for a hundred years. But look at your food and drink: it has not spoiled; and look at your donkey!” The verse tells us that only bones were left of the donkey (2:259).

The next verse is about Prophet Abraham, upon whom be peace, who prayed God to give him certainty in the heart about resurrection. He had to kill four birds and then put them on different hills which resulted in them being restored to life and flying back to him (2:260). While it may not be related to resurrection fully, the story of Ashab al-Kahf (“People of the Cave” or “Seven Sleepers”) is certainly intriguing and carries a similar theme. God made seven men fall sleep in a cave for roughly 300 years and then restored them to life temporarily, however they had believed that they had fallen asleep for only a very brief period. They were probably considerably skilled and well-educated young people with high positions in society, however falling asleep for three centuries caused them to lose their positions and possibly disappoint those who had invested in them at that time. Yet God Almighty’s wise purpose requires otherwise by making those people send a message to future generations, i.e., us, and giving them praiseworthy remembrance after their death. The same sura also describes the travels of Prophet Moses, upon whom be peace, accompanied by Yusha’ ibn Nun, during which the cooked fish they were carrying with them for supper was resurrected and swam into the sea (18:61-64). In a tradition of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, it is recorded that he talked to a dead girl by God’s leave upon her parent’s request, but the girl refused to come back to this world as she had found something better there [the Hereafter] [4]. 

The prevention of aging, alongside the wish to attain immortality, has long been one of the greatest aspirations of human beings. Several scientists and philosophers of the previous century argued that this might become possible in the 21st century. Chapter Baqarah refers to a prototypical society with greed for life, noting that people of that society wish “if only [they] might be spared for a thousand years” (2:96). Perhaps, the ultimate goal of today’s medical research is to try to ensure human beings live forever in this world. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, warns that this is a vain thought, although we should seek healing by all possible means: “O servants of God, search for remedy for your diseases. Indeed, God has created no incurable disease except one: old age (or, death, in another narration)” [5]. Nobel laureate Alexis Carrel maintained that human cells are immortal under favorable conditions but Leonard Hayflick, later, demonstrated that cell divisions are limited due to DNA damage and shortening of telomeres [6, 7]. According to the Hayflick limit, the maximum lifetime a person can get even if he or she lives under the best conditions is 125 years. Telomeres are the structures located at the end of the chromosomes that protect DNA, and during cell regeneration, the length of telomeres decreases with each cell division and the number of divisions declines after a critical limit. Scientists dream of slowing down the aging process by reactivating these telomeres, but they have not made much progress despite some positive results in experiments with rats.

Big technological corporations have recently been making considerable investments in order to find ways to further increase human lifespan. Venkatraman Ramakrishan, who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2009, said, “Californian billionaires are having such a good time at the party of life that they don’t want it to stop” [8]. The investments and efforts in this field do not seem very promising because the human body is not suitable for immortality. Instead, scientists are pursuing the idea of merging human brains with machines, which would require uploading a human brain to a computer. In today’s world where research on artificial intelligence is rapidly advancing, a human being’s habits and memory are supposed to be transferred to a computer. Elon Musk, the founder of Neurolink, a company that seeks to restore memory using gadgets planted into the human brain, once said that digital intelligence and biological intelligence would converge over time with increased interaction between the two. This sounds promising for the treatment of certain diseases such as Alzheimer’s. There is, however, another lead in this research according to Josh Bocanegra: “When the time comes and all the necessary advancements are in place, we’ll be able to freeze your brain, create a new artificial body, repair any damage to your brain, and transfer it into your new body” [9]. This may be an artificial body developed using stem cells with possible aid from diverse robotic devices. Ray Kurzweil, who works on Google’s machine learning project, argues that the use of tiny robotics that connect a human brain to computers may be possible by 2029, which will in turn extend human lives considerably. Another futurist, Ian Pearson predicts that in 2050, humans will achieve virtual immortality and a person’s personality transferred to a computer will be able to communicate with people in the future [9]. A recent New York Times article suggests that brain implants could change humanity [10].

Ultimately, it is hard to predict the extent of scientific and technological developments. The idea of eliminating death reminds us of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s saying that it is impossible for the lake of Barla (the town he lived in at the time) to be destroyed for the time being, but people can imagine such destruction and this imagination does not change the reality. Yet even the very imagination of eliminating death may serve as a false hope for people who rationalize everything and try to forget about the idea of death, and in this way, they stick to worldly pleasures more fervently. At this point, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, shows us the correct manner of thinking: “Remember death frequently as it dulls out pleasures” [11].

In the Qur’an, the most important verses concerning raising the dead are about the miracles of Jesus, upon whom be peace. It is emphasized that he would breathe into something fashioned out of clay in the shape of a bird, and it would become a bird by God’s leave, and that he would revive the dead and heal ill people (3:49). As a matter of fact, Mary becoming pregnant with Jesus and Jesus speaking when he was a baby are also medical miracles. It is interesting to note that today, just as in the time Jesus, materialistic thought dominates the scientific and medical research, which are mostly construed solely with a materialist perspective. Almost all discoveries are used as evidence for disbelief, and they reinforce the self-conceit of those who make them. Bediuzzaman predicts that as Christianity will be purified from superstitions in the End Times, and that science will have the upper hand in rule and power. If such a purification will occur, then one tends to think it is not going to be only in political and administrative fields. Possibly, the change of scientific, or more specifically, medical perspective may constitute a major stage in the purification process that could save modern medicine and science from materialism and become instruments of discovering the truth. Who knows? God Almighty may make a vulnerable and weak baby speak to send a message to a purely materialistic community as a manifestation of His divine power.

References

1. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, 20th Word, First Station, Words.
2. Fethullah Gülen, Kurandan İdrake Yansıyanlar.
3. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/science/chimera-stemcells-organs.html
4. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, 19th Letter, Letters.
5. Bukhari, Tib 1; Abu Dawud, Tib 1; Tirmidhi, Tib 2.
6. Carrel A, Ebeling AH. Age and multiplication of fibroblasts. J Exp Med 1921.
7. Hayflick L. The limited in vitro lifetime of human diploid cell strains. Exp Cell Res 1965.
8. https://www.livemint.com
9. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/307675
10. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/opinion/sunday/brain-machine-artificial-intelligence.html
11. Tirmidhi Hadith No. 2307.

Atheism or Theism: The Perspective of Said Nursi, Wipf & Stocks
By Hakan Gok
2018
9781532646799

The existence of God has been long debated in philosophical circles. Mankind doesn’t seem to have settled the question yet. Although scientific circles almost all agree on the assumption that the universe is not eternal and has a beginning, there seems to be no clear scientific explanation of the Big Bang. What was there before it? How did it happen? Is there a divine force behind it? Although theories such as the expansion of the universe are commonly agreed upon, there is still a major gap between the views on how life as we see it came into its current form.

Philosophers have gathered around two philosophical positions to explain the universe and human existence. Those who argue that the universe began with the Big Bang and life has come into existence as a result of some random events without any divine intervention are considered to be atheists. Others, who argue that the universe is the product of an all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving deity, are called theists. Arguably almost all thinking human beings are inclined towards one of these two positions, although the degrees and the specific philosophical positions are varied. While atheism had never been a trend almost until the seventeenth century, the theistic view, which was the mainstream thought, did not really concern itself much to bring evidence for the existence of God. Although there has been a very dynamic discussion on this topic in the last three centuries, one tends to accept belief in the existence of God as a matter of personal conviction rather than a result of empirical evidence.

Hakan Gok’s recent book is another fresh contribution to this everlasting debate. Gok explains the scene to the layman in his fairly extended introduction. It is, in a way, an executive summary of what has been said since the time of the Ancient Greeks. The book gives a special emphasis on the kalam version of the argument for the existence of God, in particular the views of Al Kindi, Al Farabi, Ibn Sina, Al Ghazzali, and Ibn Rushd. Although the kalam arguments sound fairly similar to that of the Western tradition, the reader can feel the flavor of Islamization of these common arguments. It is clear in Gok’s writings that there is a close correlation between Western and Islamic ways of arguing in favor of theism. The book also shows how Muslim philosophers, particularly the ones mentioned above, were influenced by the Ancient Greek tradition.

What is unique in Gok’s book is the fact that it examines Said Nursi’s approach to atheism and theism, as Nursi extensively did in the Risale-i Nur (The Epistles of Light). Gok tries to demonstrate that, like many of his predecessors, Nursi employed main philosophical arguments to prove that there is God and the universe is not the product of chance. The teleological argument, or the argument from design, which is the offshoot of the cosmological argument, is Nursi’s main proof to demonstrate the existence of God. Gok breaks down Nursi’s design argument and scrutinizes it thoroughly. Arguments from religious experience and from revelation appear in two different chapters in Gok’s book. The book seems to be at pains to demonstrate how Nursi gives a twist to these two arguments by focusing intensely on Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and the Quran.

Gok’s book doesn’t only focus on proving that these two arguments make a compelling argument for believing in God, but also studies how Nursi answers the skeptical questions posed over time by many thinkers. It feels more like a defense of Nursi’s position than a systematic presentation of them as they appear in William Lane Craig and the like.

The moral argument is another Nursian way of proving the existence of God, as Gok’s book shows. Human beings are the best judges of any given situation. If all the philosophical arguments fail to convince them, their primordial conscience (wijdan) can lead them into believing in a creator-maintainer God. This, Gok claims, is what makes Nursi’s Risale-i Nur unique among many pieces written on the subject.

Gok’s book puts all the main theistic arguments, kalam arguments, and the atheist’s arguments into the same frame. Readers can clearly see all three positions and where Nursi sits on this spectrum. Gok does not only look at the historic arguments, but also analyzes recent ones. Specifically, he compares Nursi’s views in the Risale-i Nur with Richard Dawkins’s views in The God Delusion, Christopher Hitchens’s in God Is Not Great, and Daniel C Dennetts’s assessments in Consciousness Explained: Darwin’s Dangerous Idea and Breaking the Spell. In a well-balanced and fairly objective way, Gok puts the arguments against each other and encourages the reader to form their own judgement.

Atheism and theism are two colossal schools of thought. One should not expect Gok to settle all the scores in 270 pages. His work is easy to read and easy to understand; it merely rekindles one’s interest in independently reading and scrutinizing these thoughts while also making the subject more digestible for those who have an interest in them. Gok sums up Nursi’s position in the Risale-i Nur with a degree of critical analysis.

Each of the Nursian arguments certainly deserve further scrutiny. Yet Gok works to avoid bogging readers down with too many specific philosophical details. Among many books which have been published on the subject, Gok’s makes the subject more enjoyable and digestible for the general readership. It is a fresh contribution to the literature written on Said Nursi’s Risale-i Nur and the subject of theism and atheism.

In his book, Flew states, “I should point out, moreover, that this is not the first time I changed my mind on a fundamental issue. Among other things, readers who are familiar with my vigorous defense of free markets may be surprised to learn that I was once a Marxist …” Flew in fact consistently mentions throughout his book that it is not actually the first time he changed his mind. These statements may disappoint those readers who want to hear more reliable arguments on the question of God. However, as a philosopher, Flew is confident in his decision and leaves it to readers to decide how to deal with his reasons for changing his mind. Given the possibility of progress in philosophy, Flew considers it a principle to follow the argument wherever it may lead him. Therefore, before reading this book, one should keep in mind that the book has a philosophical perspective rather than a religious one. Philosophical thought is inherently unbiased (or unguided) and quite evolutionary as opposed to any given religion (say Christianity, Islam or Judaism), which usually has its own well-defined and self-consistent structure.

It is not possible in this short article to summarize all of the reasons which led Flew to believe in God in the later stage of his life. Below, we mainly discuss how Flew’s decision was influenced by the origin of the laws of physics. We also show how his final thoughts compare with modern Muslim scholars Nursi and Gülen, who have roots in revelations rather than philosophy. Then we explain why we believe Flew’s methodology is not safe as long as it stays within the territories of traditional philosophy.

Laws of physics and “mind of God”

When Flew discusses the origin of the laws of physics (or undeniable design in the universe), he gives statements from the founders of quantum physics, all of whom connect the laws of nature with the “Mind of God,” as described by Einstein. He refers to Max Planck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrodinger, and Paul Dirac. Below, we only quote Schrodinger’s statement:

“The scientific picture of the world around me is very deficient. It gives me a lot of factual information, puts our experience in a magnificently consistent order, but is ghastly silent about all that is really near to our heart, that really matters to us. It cannot tell a word about the sensation of red and blue, bitter and sweet, feelings of delight and sorrow. It knows nothing of beauty and ugly, good or bad, God and eternity. Science sometimes pretends to answer questions in these domains, but the answers are very often so silly that we are not inclined to take them seriously.

Science is reticent too when it is a question of the great Unity of which we somehow form a part, to which we belong. The most popular name for it in our time is God, with a capital ‘G.’ Science is, very usually, branded as being atheistic. After what we have said this is not astonishing. If its world picture does not even contain beauty, delight, sorrow, if personally cut out of it by agreement, how should it contain the most sublime idea that presents itself to the human mind?”

Nursi and Gülen, two great scholars of our modern times, have the following views on this. According to Nursi [2,3], only through the light of faith in God and His Divine Revelation, can humans understand their true essence, the universe that they reside within, their past, present, and their future. Otherwise, things and events surrounding them would be highly difficult to comprehend, because the only mechanism that would remain to interpret the purpose behind would be the ego equipped with limited knowledge and experience, which is too subjective to rely on and far from being convincing. Most of the time, the ego misguides people into the darkness and heedlessness. However, with the light of faith, believers do not fall into such catastrophes. Believers better understand and appreciate the universe and do not suffer as unbelievers do; rather they enjoy the whispering galleries in the universe and beyond.

Gülen’s perspective [2,4,5] is similar to Nursi. Although it might be possible for some brilliant scientists to discover how things work at the most fundamental levels of particles, it is impossible to fully comprehend how these particles actually constitute the whole in such a perfect harmony. This is because there is infinite knowledge of the Omniscient behind the scenes. Those who deny the existence of the Omniscient are shocked by the incredible harmony in nature and yet attribute it all to the creatures themselves. These limited, shortsighted perspectives and prejudices leave so many gaps in the quest for existence that the systems developed based on them cannot convince anyone, but rather open up greater questions in the heart, mind, and soul, all waiting to be answered. However, a person equipped with the former perspective can reach more conclusive results in very short times with much less efforts compared to those unbelievers who consume their lives to understand existence. Believers feel the signs of God in everything they explore and live their days as if in the avenues of Paradise. If the reason is integrated with the revelation, only then can it elevate us to the realms of the unreachable. It opens the doors to the true universe, which is otherwise hidden in darkness and chaos. With revelation, the universe turns into a great book of existence, telling about its Creator on every page. Then those struggling in emptiness and tyranny are awakened to humanistic ideals and the truth.

On the different pages of his book, Flew reminds the reader that scientists like Paul Davies and John Barrow have received the Templeton Prize for further developing the insights of Einstein, Heisenberg, and other scientists into theories of the relationship between the rationality of nature and the Mind of God. Flew draws attention to the existence of natural laws and cites Paul Davies, who says, “even the most atheistic scientist accepts as an act of faith the existence of a law-like order in nature that is at least in part comprehensible to us.” The critical question Flew asks is, “whose laws?”

Flew thinks, no matter what, we still have to come to terms with the origin of the laws of nature. He says, “the only viable explanation here is the divine Mind.” Once the physical laws are set correctly, one can think of our resultant universe; however, the question that needs to be answered is ‘who set the laws and why did they set them this way?'”

Flew also reminds the reader of the following question related to the origin of life, a question that has not been answered: “How can a universe of mindless matter produce beings with intrinsic ends, self-replication capabilities, and coded chemistry?” He quotes from Paul Davies again, “The problem of how meaningful or semantic information can emerge spontaneously from a collection of mindless molecules subject to blind and purposeless forces presents a deep conceptual challenge.” Flew makes an important distinction between this question and what is being addressed by “evolution.” He says that the latter is dealing with the interaction of chemicals, whereas the above question is interrogating how something (chemicals) can be intrinsically purpose driven.

Nursi explains this as follows [6]:

“If you do not accept that the particles in your body are tiny officials in motion in accordance with the law of the Pre-Eternal and All-Powerful One, or that they are an army, or the nibs of the pen of Divine Determining, with each particle as the nib of a pen, or that they are points inscribed by the pen of Power with each particle being a point, then in every particle working in your eye there would have to be an eye such as could see every limb and part of your body as well as the entire universe, with which you are connected. In addition to this, you would have to ascribe to each particle an intelligence equivalent to that of a hundred geniuses, sufficient to know and recognize all your past and your future, and your forbears and descendants, the origins of all the elements of your being, and the sources of all your sustenance. To attribute the knowledge and consciousness of a thousand Plato’s to a single particle of one such as you who does not possess even a particle’s worth of intelligence in matters of this kind is a crazy superstition a thousand times over!”

Here Nursi argues that the intelligence and consciousness that are exhibited in the universe can only be understood by the existence of the Pre-Eternal and All-Powerful One. He guides these mindless particles toward a Divine Determining and in accordance with the law. Nursi also draws attention to a subtle point which is missing in the philosophers’ question above. The particles and the law they are bound to are created so intelligently and consciously that they do not only give rise to the sustenance of the current universe, but we can tailor them for our future sustenance and well being. To give an example, consider a 10 billion year old particle, an electron. How did this particle lead to today’s electronic revolution? How did it know it could function one day as part of a flowing current in a computer chip?

Pilgrimage of reason is not safe

In his book, Flew considers three evidences which require an Intelligence explaining not only its own existence but also that of the world. These are the laws of nature, life, and the existence of the universe. Flew admits that the journey to his discovery of God has so far been a pilgrimage of reason. He has followed the argument where it has led him. The arguments led him to accept the existence of a self-existent, immutable, immaterial, omnipotent, and omniscient being.

Although it’s quite impressive what Flew has gone through and he put forward reasonable arguments, no one can actually guarantee that his arguments will ultimately lead to Truth, since they can be neither proved nor disproved. Worse, a smarter philosopher or scientist may well appear in the future and challenge him. Then, how can we actually make sure that Flew is actually right in his arguments?

The answer is, “we can never be.” There is a need for a strong “point of support,” since science and philosophy alone, by definition, as admitted in Schrodinger’s statement above, cannot provide absolutely convincing arguments. If God exists and wants man to know Him, there is a need for a clear message immune from any kind of ambiguity and understandable by virtually anyone. Nothing would be clearer than direct revelations from God. Interestingly, there are, in fact, many verses in the Quran [7], for example, which draw attention to such clarity in God’s messages:

• “A.L.R. These are the Ayats of Revelation, of a Quran that makes things clear.” (The Rocky Tract 1)
• “We have already sent down to you verses making things clear, an illustration from (the story of) people who passed away before you, and an admonition for those who fear (Allah).” (The Light 34)
• “Thus we have sent down Clear Signs; and verily Allah guides whom He will!” (The Pilgrimage 16)
• “We have sent down to you Manifest Signs; and none reject them but those who are perverse.” (The Heifer 99)
• “A.L.R. (This is) a Book, with verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning), further explained in detail, from One Who is Wise and Well-Acquainted (with all things):” (The Prophet Hud 1)
• “A Sura which we have sent down and which We have ordained: in it We have sent down Clear Signs, in order that you may receive admonition.” (The Light 1)
• “This is the Way of your Lord, leading straight: We have detailed the Signs for those who receive admonition.” (The Cattle 126)

Revealing the Message of God

Flew finishes his book with a very beautiful analogy of a satellite phone discovered by an island tribe. The sage in the tribe suggests that the phone is a medium of contact with other humans. After some investigation, the tribe confirms that the phone is connected to a network which transmits the voices of intelligent beings that exist. They go even further and decipher the patterns and rhythms and their whole world changes. Similarly the discovery of phenomena like the laws of nature-the communications network in this parable–has led the thinkers to accept the existence of an infinitely intelligent Mind. Although Flew summarizes his pilgrimage in a very beautiful fashion with such a parable, we should agree, however, that the direct revelation of God through his messengers is the integral part of this communication network. Even Flew subconsciously acknowledges the role of the “sage” in his parable.

Acknowledgment: This article was produced in Mergeous [8], an online article and project development service for authors and publishers dedicated to the advancement of technologies in the merging realms of science and spiritual thought. The longer and live version of the article [9] is also available in Mergeous for interested readers.

References

1. A. Flew, “There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind,” HarperCollins Publishers (New York, 2007).

2. Kainata Imanla Bakis, http://www.mergeous.com/projectcon.asp?aid=21

3. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Sozler, Sayfa 281-299 (risaleinurenstitusu.org).

4. M. F. Gülen, “Islam’in engin ufku,” Yagmur, Sayi 30, Ocak-Mart 2006.

5. M. F. Gülen, “Marifet, Muhabbet ve Medyuniyet,” Kirik Testi, http://www.herkul.org/kiriktesti/?article_id=7978

6. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Flashes, pg. 237 (translated by Sukran Vahide).

7. A. Y. Ali, The Qur’an Translation, Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, Inc. (New York 2004).

8. Mergeous, Online article and project development service, mergeous.com

9. There is a God: How the world’s most notorious atheist changed his mind, by Antony Flew (Review), http://www.mergeous.com/articlecon.asp?aid=16

Yet fear of imminent calamities, unspeakable catastrophes, is rarely absent; the horrors of individual and collective destruction are never remote. (Brombert 2010)

One of the important details that many scholars focus on in Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” is that she has many secrets awaiting to be revealed through her real life experiences (Gay 2002). This is similar to Nursi’s real time experiences, and indicates that both can be continually studied by evolving modern and postmodern ideologies (Hardy 2011).

Socio-economic background

Both Nursi and Woolf worked in a time, post World War I, of deep socio-economic uncertainty. Faced with the ruins of one war, and the threat of another, society was wracked by spiritual, moral, and psychology turmoil. The Great War for civilizations was turning into “disenchantment” (Panichas 2004). In England, the male population had been damaged by the war. The war veteran, Septimus Warren Smith, who commits suicide and symbolizes the pessimistic side of Woolf in “Mrs. Dalloway” is reflected as the duplicate of Clarissa Dalloway and represents the lower class of English society of that time:

More British soldiers died in World War I than in any other British conflict. Under the best of circumstances, this burden would have been difficult to bear, but other factors increased the psychological and emotional damage. (Bethea 2010)

As such, women were starting to go to work in traditionally male fields and were mobilizing for equal rights. Woolf, herself a feminist writer, advocated for women’s equality and suffrage.

While Woolf was firmly entrenched in the English middle class, Said Nursi, on the other hand, lived a mobile life in rural Anatolia and Istanbul. He had been exiled for writing the “Risale-i Nur,” through which he struggled against ignorance and obstacles to socio-economic and spiritual welfare. Freedom of conscience was under assault in Turkey at the time (Yavuz 1999). Nursi devoted his life to answering the questions of western science and philosophy with revelations from the Qur’an, and reconciling them with more spiritual thought.

Psychological background

Psychology serves as a science, not only for corporal healing, but also to help people reach happiness, an inner-state of tranquility. However, psychology, as a positive subjective experience of science, has been restricted and described as a devotee of prevention from pathological illnesses, especially when confronted with despair or pessimism about the meaningfulness of life. Authors like Mongarin, Csikszentmihalyi, and Hershbenger eagerly clung on the idea of reorientation of psychology, as a science, to its two main missions of evaluating normal people and actualizing the high human potential (Mongrain 2012, Csikszentmihalyi 2009, and Hershbenger 2005). The dominance of pathology resulted in a model of the human being that is lacking positive concepts like hope, wisdom, creativity, courage, spirituality, responsibility, and perseverance, which are essential for one’s well-being. Such values were ignored or defined as mere transformations of authentic negative impulses (Seligman et al 2000).

Septimus, who suffers from a very serious mental problem caused by the shock of war, in which he lost his closest friend and many others, loses his belief in the doctor that diagnosed him with “lack of proportion.” Due to these traumas and lack of faith, he commits suicide at the end of the novel. Woolf, through Clarissa, also has negative feelings about doctors, thus showing sympathy for Septimus Warren Smith:

She felt somehow very like him-the young man who had killed himself. She felt glad that he had done it; thrown it away. The clock was striking. The leaden circles dissolved in the air. He made her feel the beauty; made her feel the fun. But she must go back. She must assemble. (Woolf 1925)

Themes, symbols, and motifs

Optimism vs. pessimism

Clarissa starts the day with fresh thoughts of livelihood as she heads to the florist:

For Heaven only knows why one loves it so, how one sees it so, making it up, building it round one, tumbling it, creating it every moment afresh; but the veriest frumps, the most dejected of miseries sitting on doorsteps (drink their downfall) do the same; can’t be dealt with, she felt positive, by Acts of Parliament for that very reason: they love life. (Woolf 1925)

These lines reflect how joyful her thoughts are, as depicted by Woolf in Dalloway’s stream of consciousness. However, the same person gets very depressed as she later finds it difficult to bear life one more day:

She had a perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day. (Woolf 1925)

Nursi also uses natural elements to infer implications of depression and pessimism if one was to see the landscape we live in with limited visions, as he narrated the story of the prophet Jonah, who was believed to be swallowed by a big fish and had to endure darkness and loneliness. This was redemption for leaving his people, who had strayed from God.

Our night is the future. When we look upon our future with heedlessness towards our religious responsibilities, it is a hundred times darker and more fearful than his (Jonah’s) night. Our seas is this moving, unstable earth. Each wave of this sea bears on its thousands of dead bodies, and so is a thousand times more frightening than his sea. Our fish consists of the lusts and caprices of our evil-commanding soul, which strive to destroy our eternal life. Such a fish is a thousand times more harmful than his. For his fish could have destroyed a hundred-year lifespan, whereas ours seeks to destroy a life that will last hundreds of millions of years. (Nursi 2008, 5)

As inferred through the lines mentioned above, “Mrs. Dalloway” brings up calamities in society through ordinary characters by delving into their consciousness as to justify reasons for despair; it uses myriads of minor characters, together with major characters, to reflect a larger social corruption, oftentimes leading to questions of higher meaning.

She often questions life’s true meaning, wondering whether happiness is truly possible. She feels both a great joy and a great dread about her life, both of which manifest in her struggles to strike a balance between her desire for privacy and her need to communicate with others. (SparkNotes Editors 2004)

Nursi, like Woolf, gives a detailed depiction of calamities in our lives, but unlike her, he forces the reader to see behind the curtain which veils eternal blessings; with a little effort, one may overcome the life-spanned limitations and achieve hundreds of millions of years of peace by submitting to the true Sustainer:

By demonstrating that He acts in whichever way He wills; by showing that (humankind and jinn have been equipped with free will and are responsible for their decisions and acts); by reminding that whatever takes place in the universe and whatever proceeds from, or is done, by any creature, is through His permission; by making it clear that universal laws are also always subject to His Will, and that an All-Compassionate Lord hears the individuals who cry out under the pressure of these laws and that He comes to their aid with His favors… (Nursi 2004, 33-34)

Time

Time, in both perspectives, is handled as a key element that indicates the circular recurring of events and the cessation of life.

Clarissa, Septimus, Peter, and other characters are in the grip of time, and as they age they evaluate how they have spent their lives. Clarissa, in particular, senses the passage of time, and the appearance of Sally and Peter, friends from the past, emphasizes how much time has gone by since Clarissa was young. (SparkNotes Editors 2004)

In “Mrs. Dalloway,” time is always present, as Big Ben always reminds the characters and readers of the time by chiming: “leaden circles dissolved in the air” (Woolf 1925). This expression is seen in many parts of the novel, as there is always time to do something, like not waiting anymore for another day to live the same things.

Time is so important to the themes, structure, and characters of this novel that Woolf almost named her book The Hours. (SparkNotes Editors 2004)

Said Nursi’s approach to time as a concept has quite an eminent value, as it is handled with regards to the past, present, and future of each individual.

Such is reality. Past hours of misfortune and their pain have disappeared, while the future days of imagined distress have not yet come. Pain does not come from nothing or from that which does not exist. Therefore, it is pure lunacy to eat and drink continually today out of fear that we will probably be hungry and thirsty in the future. Similarly, it is foolish to think at this present moment of past and future pains – pains which do not exist – and, as a result, to grow impatient, to ignore one’s faulty soul, and to act as though one is complaining about God. (Nursi 2010, 341-342)

Death vs. immortality

Death in “Mrs. Dalloway” stalks characters throughout the novel. Thoughts of death lurk beneath the surface of everyday life, especially for Clarissa, Septimus, and Peter, and this awareness makes even mundane events and interactions meaningful, sometimes even threatening (SparkNotes Editors 2004). Woolf delved into flux of consciousness through fear of death, as it is a door to mortality. The lines she reads on a book from a bookshop’s window from Shakespeare, are an epiphany about mortality:

Fear no more the heat o’ the sun / Nor the furious winter’s rages. (Shakespeare 2006)

Her desire for immortality shows itself through a movie star, as she will be remembered even after her death, and through, Richard as he would be given an award for his writing and also be remembered. Art in general is shown as a way of not being forgotten. Thus, Dalloway’s desire for immortality is quite obvious.

Nursi, just like Woolf shows the implications of desire for immortality as a basic need for human beings, a sense that should be fulfilled by eternal blessings of the hereafter. In his belief, just like a sense of hunger is fulfilled by eating, or thirst by drinking, the desire for immortality is a humane need that can find its needed answer through a power beyond human strength, a divine power that is free from the limits of mortality. When Nursi perceives the death of nature he shows great remorse and sadness:

The scenes of death and decay which appeared in this continuous flurry of activity were so pitiable that they moved me to tears. The more I witnessed the death of those lovely creatures, the more my heart ached. Sighing with pity and regret, I found my spirit in deep turmoil, for life that came to such an end seemed to me to be a torment worse than death.

The living beings of the plant and animal kingdoms, most beautiful and full of precious art, were opening their eyes to gaze on this exhibition of the universe for a moment and were then disappearing. The more I watched, the more pain I felt. I was moved to complain by shedding tears, while my heart asked profound questions such as: “Why do they come and then go away without ceasing? (Nursi 2010, 13-14)

These lines indicate parallelism with Woolf’s pessimism in “Mrs. Dalloway.” One might find suicide quite inevitable if there were only such despair. Yet Nursi finds peace from his pessimism through verses of Qur’an and puts meaning to the aforementioned seemingly meaningless deaths:

As I started complaining bitterly about fate because of the painful way the events of these beings’ life are governed, indicated by the light of the Qur’an and the mystery of belief, Divine Unity came to my aid as a pure favor of the All-Merciful. (Nursi 2010, 14)

… each living creature-this ornate flower, for example, or that sweet-producing bee, is such a meaningful Divine ode that innumerable conscious beings study it with great delight. It is such a precious miracle of Power and so great a proclamation of Wisdom that it exhibits the Art of the Maker to countless appreciative observers in a most attractive manner. Another exceedingly elevated result of its creation is that it presents itself to, or is favored with, the gaze of the All-Majestic Originator, Who wills to observe His Art Himself, to look on the grace and beauty of His creation, and view the beauties of the manifestations of His Names in the countless mirrors that are His creatures. (Nursi 2010, 14)

Unlike Nursi, Dalloway’s inner struggle against insanity that is caused by the same sorrows doesn’t give her the chance of a fruitful outcome, as she finds it an impossible fight to win. She has grown to believe that living even one day is dangerous. Death is very naturally in her thoughts, and the line from Cymbeline, along with Septimus’s suicidal embrace of death, ultimately helps her to be at peace with her own mortality (SparkNotes Editors 2004).

Conclusion

In this article, the two contemporary writers are compared and contrasted through their writings and comprehensions of life. It is quite obvious that there is much more to write to fully convey their viewpoints. Nevertheless, this article could be a first step for further studies on both scholars. One may think that they have quite different approaches, but when delved into their philosophical and psychological inner worlds, many superficial differences are in fact similarities hidden behind misconceptions.

On the other hand, it is quite obvious that they have significant differences about their outcomes that can be revealed from their works, as they have different sources of inspirations. Further research is obviously required on their approaches to natural elements. Their psychological perspectives could be given a more detailed study and other philosophers and psychologists could be referred to in comprehending their perceptions. Other works written by the two writers could be explored, too. The function of science is also an important element in understanding the “Risale-i Nur” (Mermer 1999, Alam 2009). More importantly, Said Nursi, as an eastern scholar, should be given his deserved place among the western world of literature.

References

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With his new book, Insights from the Risale-i Nur, Thomas Michel sets out to answer some of these questions. Michel states his goal very early in the book: as a Jesuit priest, he wants to know where, if at all, he can find “points of convergence” between Christianity and Islam within Bediüzzaman Said Nursi’s (d. 1960) seminal “Risale-i Nur.”

It turns out there aren’t just a few points, but many. And throughout Michel’s book – which is a collection of essays, speeches, and presentations the priest has delivered over the last two decades – he lays the groundwork for a healthy, constructive dialogue between not just Christians and Muslims, but peoples of all faith.

Nursi wrote the “Risale-i Nur” in the wake of two world wars. He’d watched as the secular advances of Western civilization had led to the near total destruction of Europe – not once, but twice. The collateral damage had deeply affected his home, Turkey, and its neighbors. And he endured the ill effects of Turkey’s own modernization efforts, as he was repeatedly persecuted and imprisoned for his faith.

Under such circumstances, it would have been understandable if his book had been rife with anger. Instead, as Michel astutely shows throughout his own thoughtful book, Nursi’s commentary is remarkably hopeful. He sought these “points of convergence” while also stressing what he believed as the truth of his own faith. Michel adeptly uses Nursi’s words to draw out the common ground between different faiths, and looks at how these similarities can be applied in our equally fraught contemporary age.

Both Christianity and Islam pinpoint the destruction wrought by war and poverty as having germinated not from faith, but from rampant materialism run to its natural conclusion. In a quote that Michel returns to, time and again, Nursi writes:

Europe is two. One follows the sciences which serve justice and right
And the industries beneficial for the life of society it has received from
True Christianity; this first Europe I am not addressing. I am rather
Addressing the second, corrupt Europe which, through the darkness of
The philosophy of naturalism, supposing the evils of civilization to be
Its virtues, has driven mankind to vice and misguidance.

Michel routinely connects Nursi’s, and Islam’s, distress about materialism and greed with Christianity and Judaism’s distress about the same things. The book’s second essay charts the overlaps between Nursi and Pope John Paul II in their approaches to forgiveness. Both men believed that materialism, and the selfishness it fosters, are antithetical to healthy, fulfilled communities. People of faith, no matter their belief systems, believe that a truly rich life involves more than the simple acquisition of transient materials. This common desire – for communities based on mutual love and respect instead of self-interest – is a major point of convergence. As Nursi writes, “Our enemy, that which is destroying us, is Lord Ignorance, his son [Master] Poverty Efendi, and grandson, [Mr] Enmity Bey.”

Michel shows that, although Nursi believed adamantly in the truth of his faith, he also believed that true followers of the other “revealed religions” were friends and allies of Islam. Writing after the Second World War, Nursi stated that innocents who had died “were martyrs of a sort, whatever religion they belonged to.” In the aftermath of an invasion that mostly destroyed the city of Van, Nursi “…wept without distinction for both the Christian and Muslim victims, who had been his ‘friends and acquaintances.’” In these acts of kindness, Michel finds common ground with Nursi – both of their faiths value the dignity of every human life.

In a world in which the pursuit of wealth and immediate satisfaction guides so many human interactions, this value is not always present. All too often, people from different walks of life are viewed as obstacles to a person attaining the material satisfaction they’ve come to believe is rightfully theirs.

Michel sums up this perspective succinctly in one of the most important essays in the book, “Dialogue among Believers.” He writes, “Instead of fostering fellowship and mutual aid among nations, social values are too often oriented toward providing the populace with amusements, distractions, and opportunities for instant gratification.”

Such striving for material rewards – the pursuit of which lies at the heart of capitalism, which often functions as a “secular” religion – has resulted in the debasement and poverty of a large portion of the world’s population. This dehumanization and desacralizing of human life is at the root of most religious concerns about contemporary culture. Instead of working towards a “higher good” – community, peace, or God – people are focused on self-actualization through consumption. But as Jesus says in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 4, verse 4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” The Qur’an echoes this when it says, in chapter 63, verse 9, “Let not your properties … divert you from the remembrance of God.” It’s not difficult to interpret these quotes to mean that humanity should not simply honor and respect God, but should also honor and respect God’s creations through reverence and peace. Material possessions alone cannot fill a person’s spirit; this is a belief almost all religions share.

Both Nursi and Michel feel that the absence of religion – and not the differences between faiths – has led to the wars and poverties of the last century. This is a belief that many, many people of faith share. The essays in the book continually return to these themes of common interest. By having a dialogue with Nursi’s text, and by viewing that text in its best possible context, Michel establishes a space for further dialogue between people of all faiths to occur. Both men express their adamant belief that faith – be it Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or something else – has an important, vital role to play in establishing a broad, lasting peace. Michel, like Nursi before him, remains hopeful about the future role faith will play in a more peaceful, tolerant world. This book serves as a dialogue between two religions, and it builds a foundation for future dialogues. It is a foundation built of respect, devoted faith, and a deep commitment to the dignity of every life. These are not Christian, Muslim, or Jewish values – they are universal values.

A question can be defined as any sentence that has an interrogative form or function (Cotton 1988). Asking and answering questions are among the most common human behaviors we experience in many different areas of our lives (Samson, Syrowsky, Weinstein, & Walberg 1987). For instance, as mentioned in Sahin and Kulm (2008)’s study, questions have been used for many purposes such as provoking students and making them listen carefully, analyzing their thoughts and thinking critically. Moreover, the questioning method serves to initiate discussion and review material. Unsurprisingly, research has found that classroom talks are dominated by teachers’ questions (Redfield & Rousseau 1981). Indeed, teachers use anywhere from 35 to 50 percent of their instructional time posing questions (Cotton 1998). Thus questioning is a common and pivotal teaching skill which needs special attention for maximum benefit. Additionally, the type of questions teachers ask and how often these questions are posed to students also needs examining.

Question types

The questioning method has been a well-studied topic in education for centuries because it has been thought to be a good measure of a teacher’s quality (Stevens 1912). Therefore, a number of studies have taken place to examine the types of questions asked by teachers. Even though different categorizations have been set out in various researches, it is possible to see that there are several types of questions studied most and these include: higher-order, open-ended, divergent, evaluative, lower-order, factual, convergent, closed, and procedural questions. But when looked at these questions closely, it is possible to group them under two categories, probing and factual, based on the answers you expect from your students. The first group of categorization might include higher-order, open-ended, divergent, and evaluative question types under probing since all those question types require students to think deeply, provide wider responses, and justify answers. Indeed, Sahin and Kulm (2008) found that probing question was like the first group of question types requiring the following:

• Asking students to explain or elaborate on their thoughts
• Asking students to use prior knowledge and apply it to the current problem or idea
• Asking students to justify or prove their ideas (p. 3).

Examples of probing questions include:

1. How do you know that these fractions, 3/7 and 9/21, are equivalent?
2. Why do you agree with your friend?
3. How do you know that your answer is right?
4. What if you were in his shoes, what would you do to stop him from stealing?
5. If you were the President of the United States, would you liberate Libya? Why or why not?

The second group consists of lower-order, convergent, closed, and procedural questions that require students to recall specific facts and provide short answers. Sahin and Kulm’s (2008) study described indicators of factual questions which was very similar to the second group of questions:

• Asking students for a specific fact or definition (Vacc 1993)
• Asking students for an answer to an exercise
• Asking students to provide the next step in a procedure.

Examples of factual questions include:

1. What is the definition of a ratio?
2. When is the Independence Day of America?
3. What do you get when you divide 16 by 4?
4. Do you agree with him?
5. How many blue chocolate candies do you have in your M&M bag?

In practice, 60 to 80 percent of teachers’ questions are factual and around 20 percent of them are probing questions according to Cotton (1998). So it is important for teachers to be knowledgeable about those questions types.

How to develop questioning skills

Cotton (1998) found that teachers’ questioning method was the second most used teaching skill after lecturing in K-12 education. This is an interesting finding because even though it is used widely in teaching, research shows that teachers receive little training on how to ask, what to ask, and when to ask questions and how much time they need to wait after they pose a question. For instance, Sahin (2011) found that training or workshops on questioning was not a common practice in Texas. Four teachers said that they never took a course or a workshop specifically focusing on questioning and wait time. Interestingly, they said that they still used different questions to teach what they teach. When they were asked how they developed their questioning skills, they attributed it to watching and observing a good teacher as the number one technique to learn how to ask questions.

Another common method to learn how to pose questions is going out in the field and working in a classroom with real teachers and students as described by a middle grades mathematics teacher:

When I was an undergraduate, the time in the classroom, the classroom experience, going out in the field, being in the classroom with actual teachers and helping them out, seeing how they are doing it. You pick up things and you get exposed to different strategies in the classroom. So, I think, having the exposure in the classrooms is very beneficial because you are taught a lot with a lecture at A&M or at any college but real life exposure out in the classrooms with real kids, what kind of questions kids are asking and how they are responding to the questions, I think, is very helpful (Sahin 2011, 39).

Also the importance of workshops on questioning techniques and wait time cannot be ignored since teachers tend to and are encouraged to attend workshops regularly to grow and become better teachers. But Sahin’s findings illustrate that teachers cannot locate a specific workshop on questioning. There was only one teacher who said that she attended a workshop on teachers’ questioning method in her fifteen years of teaching. So, trainings or workshops on different teaching skills should be organized and teachers should be highly encouraged to attend a certain number of professional development workshops each school year.

Wait time

Questions and wait time are two sides of the same coin. As a coin cannot be valid without one of the sides, questioning techniques will not be successful without sufficient wait time. More precisely, you may ask quality and timely questions to your students but it will not extract learning unless you provide them with enough time to absorb and process the question and produce an answer. Cotton (1998), in her review on questioning and wait time, defined wait time as “the amount of time the teacher allows to elapse after he/she has posed a question and before a student begins to speak” (p. 5). Interestingly, research shows that the average wait time teachers allow students to generate response is one second or less (Rowe 1974). Naturally, no one can expect students to understand a question, process it, and formulate a response in such a short period of time.

Increasing a wait time of three or more seconds is an immense improvement for better responses and eventually for more effective student learning. Studies such as Cazden (2001) have revealed that three or more seconds of wait time help students give longer responses, provide better responses with more evidence of learning, further elaboration, encourage more questioning, and added engagement with increased student-to-student and student-to-teacher interactions. This is why it is crucial for teachers to go through trainings to develop proper wait time habits encouraging further student learning.

The use of questioning skills in daily life

Scholars, religious leaders, and/or prophets can be categorized as teachers as well since they are in a position to communicate to people certain things by lecturing, preaching, or posing questions. In that sense, Socrates was not alone in his use of questioning techniques to teach something or convince someone about a misunderstood value. The following story presents an excellent example of a well-constructed questioning method with enough wait time. In the story, Turkish scholar Said Nursi talks about how wrong or exaggerated fear can make one’s life unbearable:

An important man (may God’s mercy be upon him) was afraid to travel by boat. One evening, we went to Galata bridge to take the ferry to Eyup. He did not want to get on, saying that he feared he would drown. When I asked him how many boats were in the Golden Horn, he replied that there might be as many as one thousand. When I asked him how many boats sank each year, he replied usually one or two, and sometimes none. I made this analogy: “Since a year has 365 days, your chance of drowning is 1:365,000. Why does such a small chance scare you?” I asked: “How much longer do you expect to live?” He answered: “Maybe 10 years; I am old already.” I continued: “As there are 3,650 days in 10 years, your chance of dying today is 1:3,650. But since we do not know when we will die, you could die at any time. So repent and weep! Write your last will and testament!” Seeing the truth in my words, he got on the boat even though trembling. (Nursi 2007, 401-2)

In the example, Nursi uses a series of questions to help a person overcome his fear of boarding a boat. In this example, Nursi achieved a couple of things through questioning: first, he asked a series of (factual) questions to help the person determine his underlying beliefs about death. Nursi formulated this information in such a way to show the man how small the possibility of a boat sinking was through a set of factual questions. He posed each question cleverly and effectively to help the person realize how his feelings of death were exaggerated. Also, Nursi gave his addressee enough time to think about the questions, use prior knowledge and apply it to a current problem or situation. He did not rush him to give answers. Moreover, the information Nursi obtained was not something that his addressee did not know, rather it was a tool to help the person overcome his fear of death when boarding a boat. In a short period of time, Nursi persuaded the person that his fear was needless through the use of a questioning technique combined with adequate wait time. As Myhill and Dunkin (2002) stated, “Just like a good barrister, a good teacher knows how to use questions for maximum impact” (p. 8).

In conclusion, teachers’ questioning skills are one of the primary and most influential set of pedagogical skills in use in classrooms. Therefore, teachers should be trained in order for them to become knowledgeable about what to ask and how to ask. Additionally, teachers should know that they should wait at least three seconds after posing a question for more effective student responses and understanding. Teachers’ questioning skills and wait time should complement each other for better outcome. Colleges, districts, and schools should seek ways to improve both prospective and in-service teachers’ questioning skills.

References

• Cazden, C. B. 2001. Classroom discourse: The language of teaching and learning. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Cotton, K. 1998. Classroom questioning. North West Regional Educational Laboratory. Retrieved from http://www.learner.org/workshops/socialstudies/pdf/session6/6.ClassroomQuestioning.pdf
• Nursi, Bediüzzaman Said. 2007. The Letters. NJ: Tughra Books.
• Myhill, D., & Dunkin, F. 2002. What is a good question? Literacy, 8.
• Redfield, D. L., & Rousseau, E. W. 1981. A meta-analysis of experimental research on teacher questioning behavior. Review of Educational Research 51, 237–245.
• Sahin, A. 2011. Teachers’ awareness and acquisition of questioning. (Manuscript submitted for publication).
• Sahin, A., & Kulm, G. 2008. Sixth grade mathematics teachers. Intentions and use of probing, guiding, and factual questions. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 11(3), 221-241
• Samson, G. E., Strykowski, B., Weinstein, T., & Walberg, H. J. 1987. The effects of teacher questioning levels on student achievement. Journal of Educational Research 80, 290–295.
• Socrates.(n.d.).Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates
• Stevens, R. 1912. The questions as a measure of efficiency in instruction: A critical study of classroom practice, Teachers College Contributions to Education, 48, 95. New York: Columbia University, Teachers College Press.
• Vacc, N. N. 1993. Implementing the professional standards for teaching mathematics: Questioning in the mathematics classroom. Arithmetic Teacher, 41(2), 88–91.

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)

Especially after the 1950s, divergent thinking has been studied a lot by psychologists. Innovations, discoveries and novelties have been associated with divergent thinking which intrigued the scholars in the fields of management, military and advertisement, as well as psychology and education. However, we lack studies that link the concept of divergent thinking to religious texts. One basic contribution of employing divergent thinking to religious texts would be to broaden the understanding of the texts and to seek alternative perspectives. Such endeavor seems consistent with the consideration that religion (hence, religious texts) is an everlasting source of wisdom and inspiration, and if so, why is it confined to the early interpretations? Why not become seekers of original interpreters of religious texts and discover the unveiled aspects of it? This article will discuss the perspective from psychology and religious texts to find an answer for these questions in the case of Islam.

Among the several views on divergent thinking, a brief psychological framework that can be applied to religious texts would be helpful. This framework was conceptualized by Donald Campbell (1960). According to this, in order for original ideas to appear, the initial task would be thinking in various ways. This phase is called “blind variation.” Think of the question “List possible uses of a brick.” Possible answers to such prompts would be “build a wall,” “break into pieces,” “step on it to reach something” or “use as a pillow.” Among those responses, the first one (“build a wall”) would be a conventional response while the second, third and fourth responses are non-conventional or original ideas. However, the fourth one “use as a pillow” does not seem to be an appropriate or useful response even though it is original. Therefore, appropriateness and originality may not go hand in hand and such original but non-useful and inappropriate ideas should be filtered out. This phase is called “selective retention” which makes the process of divergent thinking more valid and a functional way of idea generation. When we apply this two-stage method of idea generation to the field of theology, verse(s) of the spiritual texts could be regarded as prompts to ponder systematically.

Two basic approaches to religions should be recalled here. One school of thought, known as orthodoxy, refers to adherence to traditional and established views on the texts. Because of the persistence on the traditional views, orthodoxy was regarded in relation to dogmatism and accused of lacking originality (Shedd, 1893). Heterodoxy implies a departure from the established and traditional views of orthodoxy. Apparently, this article does not favor a strict orthodoxy as it does not add new perspectives to our understanding of the religions. On the other hand, the extent of departure which is not at odds with the general framework of a given religion is of interest. Given the two aspects of divergent thinking (blind variation and selective retention) discussed above, generation of original ideas and novel inspirations from the religious texts can be theoretically achieved without deviating from the given frameworks of the religions.

Divergent thinking for religious texts

If one thinks of religious texts of the monotheistic religions, Biblical Judaism goes back to 4th century BCE; Christianity has a history of more than two millennium. Islam, being the recent religion, has a history of 15 centuries. The texts are obviously old and for an academic field of study, there is an enormous amount of knowledge accumulated throughout the centuries by many scholars. On the other hand, those deeply rooted traditions have created their own ways of understanding which contributed to the convergence and contraction of the interpretations. Even though converging perspectives might yield more accurate interpretations, it is still possible that many subtle or alternative aspects of religious texts have probably been ignored or not yet discovered.

As time goes by, the discrepancy between the interpretation of human beings and the original texts have increased with excessive amounts of the interpretations masking the divine message of the original texts. Interpretations converged and shrank even more since new generations were simply taught what the early generations have understood instead of being encouraged to generate new meanings. The natural transmission of religious knowledge survived for centuries. Yet, it is possible to put forward that convergent thinking has been overwhelmingly weighted in the field of theology as in other fields for the purpose of finding the single best interpretation of religious texts. We owe current level of knowledge to those scholars with a divergent mind who intervened in the process of religious thinking and teaching, and enlarged the horizons of religious thought.

As a matter of fact, older interpretations of religious texts may not always be compatible with the problems and needs of contemporary life. Since the life conditions and the intellectual climate (or zeitgeist) have dramatically changed and today’s intellectuals are educated in a different mindset which separate religious thought and scientific/philosophical issues into two distinct categories, arguments of theologians have become less convincing than they used to be. Critically, this insufficiency has been attributed to the religion itself such as “opiate of the masses” rather than the religious scholars who are unable to reproduce the religious thinking in contemporary ages without removing it from its fundamentals or simply attempting to reform it. For a theologian who believes in the idea that the role and mission of religion never ends and the religion is able to guide human beings eternally, being satisfied with the traditional views and taken-for-granted interpretations should not suffice. Indeed, the attempt to inquire new ways of interpretations of the scriptures does not necessarily negate the previous interpretations because they had validity under certain conditions in the past, and can explain today to a considerable degree. In other words, employment of divergent thinking in understanding the texts should aim to enrich and widen perspectives of the individuals rather than replacing the current views and reforming the religions.

The contribution of divergent thinking to religions can be seen in the works of scholars who came up with divergent interpretations to the texts. Richness in their interpretations without imposing necessarily one unique truth provides the readers with room for elaborating on the texts and interpretations. This attitude helps people to diverge their thinking and even go beyond what they literally see in the texts.

Some examples

There are many examples of divergent interpretation in the works of Said Nursi who is a prominent twentieth century Muslim scholar. One of the foremost features of Nursi is his approach to questions, verses of Qur’an and hadiths (collection of writings that document the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him) in multiple ways. For example, Nursi has shown several ways to interpret one hadith about cosmology:

People asked the Prophet what the earth rests upon. He replied that the earth rests upon a fish and another time upon an ox. This hadith has been discredited given the cosmology knowledge of human beings when it is taken literally. However, alternative explanations of the hadith show how some allegoric statements in the religious texts can be understood. His first interpretation was about the angels created by God who are responsible for every creation in the universe called as “commissioned angels.”

Two angels were created for the earth. Their names were “thawr” (meaning ox) and ‘hut’ (meaning fish). With that in mind, this verse means that the earth would not survive if these angels did not take care of it.

Another interpretation was related to the way people make their living. Especially in the past, people were making their living through farming and hunting. Ox represents the farming and fish represents hunting. The third interpretation is based on the different answers given at different times. According to this interpretation, the earth was on particular cosmological position or horoscope. Nursi also argued that this kind of response is legitimate because people at that time would not understand the complexity of the cosmology and the Prophet told them the truth in a way they would understand.

Another such example that Nursi interprets by going beyond its literal meaning is the verse about Moses (peace be upon him):

Again (remember) when Moses (on an occasion when his people were without water in the desert) beseeched water for his people, so We told him: “Strike the rock with your staff!” (As soon as he struck) there gushed forth from it twelve springs. Each tribe knew their drinking place. Eat and drink of that which God has provided, and do not go about acting wickedly on earth, causing disorder and corruption. (Qur’an 2:60)

According to Nursi, this verse prophesized the discovery of sounding underground to get water. This explanation is legitimate given the context that the solution is suggested “miraculously” after the people asked help from Moses for their need for water.

Nursi, as a divergent thinker, viewed the miracles in the Qur’an in a different way than others. In classical view, the extraordinary events that take place in Qur’an were indicative of the strength that God has granted some special people in history. Nursi did not restrict those verses within this view. According to him, those verses conveyed a more critical message for us as well as their message in their own contexts. The extraordinary events that happened in the past also indicate the ultimate level human beings can arrive at by working hard on sciences. This message of the miracles is the possibility that other people who work hard on understanding the rules of the nature designed by God could also achieve what have been wondrously achieved before. Therefore, those miracles that the Qur’an mentioned are not some stories that should solely bewilder, but call human beings to go beyond their limited knowledge and discover the further facts. If every technology that we take for granted was some sort of a miracle in the past, why not chase the new “miracles” by thinking outside of the box? As a result, the miracles in the Qur’an are more than the stories of unexplainable events. Such subtle messages however, are read only by divergent minds that transcend the cursory meanings.

There are many examples which scientific advances uncovered alternative interpretations of texts. The Fountain readers are very lucky to brainstorm novel interpretations. One example of divergent explanations about the verses of Holy Qur’an is the description of creation of iron. In one issue several years back Nuh Gedik (2006) brought an interesting comment on the 25th verse of Sura Hadid: “…And We sent down Iron, in which is great might, as well as many benefits for mankind….” Scholars used to interpret “sending down” the iron as one of the God-sent blessings coming from above, His supreme treasure consisting of everything. “Sending down” is taken as metaphorical, reflecting the relationship (status) between human beings and God, rather than its literal meaning. Even though this interpretation might be correct, Gedik argued that being “physically sent down from the sky miraculously points out to a very important scientific fact that was discovered only very recently” (Gedik, 2006).

According to Gedik, supernova explosions that create very high energy and heat can allow a heavy element like iron to form. According to this scenario, formation of iron can be attributed to supernova explosions that occur in Space and “sent down” on earth rather than the scenario that presumes iron resides under the soil as a consequence of some chemical reactions. While these two scenarios do not necessarily conflict, the former and more recent one gives birth to another interpretation.

The same verse inspired other divergent minds too. Salih S. Duran (2009) explained another mechanism that results in the “sending down” of iron. According to this argument, desert sands in varied magnitude travels on the air and are hanged on the atmosphere where the miraculous chemical reactions that reduce Fe+3 to Fe+2 are fulfilled with the help of water vapor and sun. Eventually, resultant iron materials are descended to earth with the rains. Those two novel explanations are neither the best nor the ultimate perspectives, but are worth considering while reading the Qur’an.

Limitations

More examples can be found, but a critical question still remains to be answered: Can we come up with any interpretation for the verses? Are there limitations to interpret the verses? The answer for these questions lies in the perspective that is provided in the beginning of this article where I discussed the processes of blind variation and selective retention. Religions (specifically Islam in the scope of this article) have basic belief systems and the understanding of the verses and hadiths have to be understood in accordance with this basic structure. For this reason, some original interpretations may not be the valid interpretations. In fact, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, warned “Whoever explains the Qur’an according to his [wrong] personal opinion shall take his place in Hell.” Some experts who focused on the outward meanings of the Qur’an have argued that this hadith prohibits personal interpretations at all, and understanding and interpreting Qur’an should merely rely on early interpretations like those of Ibn Abbas and other exegetes. Quasam (1982) outlined Al-Gazali’s theory regarding the recitation and interpretation of the Qur’an where he objected to the interpretation of this hadith as evidence negating the attempts to make new interpretations. He argued that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, also said that “Surely the Qur’an has an outward aspect, inward aspect, a limit and a prelude.” If there is an inward aspect, how can we achieve to learn it? Assuming that early interpretations have covered all possible meanings contradicts with the presence of inward aspect. If the outward meaning is clear and enough, and there is no need to seek anything new in it, why did Ali, the fourth caliph, say “If I so will I can certainly load seventy camels with the exegesis of the Opening Sura (chapter) of the Book” while this chapter is very short? Then the question is, how can we reconcile those hadiths which seem to conflict with each other?

Al-Gazali argued that this hadith actually prohibits the interpretations which aim to adduce arguments that favor interpreters’ own purposes or passions whether it is a valid purpose or not. With such incentive, the interpretation is simply corrupt rather than a personal effort to understand the Qur’an. A second reason is to prohibit those who try to interpret the Qur’an without any fundamental knowledge of the Qur’an and Arabic language which are necessary for the outward aspects. Therefore, this hadith should be seen as a warning for the appropriateness of the interpretations. Now, the nature of divergent thinking as suggested by Campbell (1960) should be recalled. Even though developing several meanings of the religious texts corresponding to blind variation is critical, it should be tested within the overall framework of the religions which is the criterion for the stage of selective retention.

To conclude, divergent thinking is one of the promising abilities of human intellect that many fields like education, psychology, management and military have utilized. However, the need for divergent thinkers is increased in the era which people cannot appreciate the intellectual depth in religious texts. Different and legitimate interpretations of religious texts will reform people’s minds regarding the potential in the old texts for our civilization and intellectual life. Contributions of Islamic scholars like Said Nursi should encourage other divergent minds for new inspirations and state-of-art perspectives.

Zekeriya Ozsoy is doctoral student studying educational psychology. For correspondence with the author: ozsoyzekeriya@gmail.com.

References

• Quasem, A. M. 1982. The recitation and interpretation of the Qurān. Al-Ghazālī’s theory. London: Kegan Paul International
• Duran, S. S. 2009. Iron: A boon that comes with desert sands. [Turkish-Col kumuyla gelen nimet: Demir]. Sizinti, 369, 454-457.
• Guilford, J. P. 1950. Creativity. American Psychologist. 5, 444-454.
• Gedik, N. 2006. Supernova Explosions and a Miracle of the Qur’an. Fountain, 54,
• Shedd, W.G.T. 1893. Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy. New York: Scribner’s Sons.
• At-Tirmidhi, Sunan, Tafsir, 1.

A child of this time when minds were blown by scientific achievements and new philosophical trends, Said Nursi also struggled to find truth in his life – a struggle that he called “transitioning from the ‘Old Said’ to the ‘New Said.’” In order to reach this truth, he not only utilized traditional sources, but also turned to modern science for help. Unfortunately, not every piece of information or knowledgeable person proved helpful during his transition; the knowledge he acquired was inadequate with a short-sighted view of human nature. Nevertheless, he came to the realization that he was not alone in his quest for truth. The sequence of events in his life was a result of his destiny, which would prepare and ultimately lead him to fulfill the duties expected of him later on.

In many parts of his works, Bediuzzaman describes various details of this transition that involve both the heart and the mind; but it is in the 26th Gleam where he specifically talks about the years during his exile in Russia, as well as the years following, all of which correspond to his transition period. There, he elaborates on his mood and state of mind in the aftermath of the First World War. But, what is of utmost significance is that at one point, he says “Those who want to understand my personal identity and human nature as a believing man, which is like that of all believers, should look at the meaning of the ‘I.’” Clearly, this implied reference takes us to the 30th Word, in which he expounds on the subject of “I,” or ego. However, at this address, we cannot yet understand his personality; at least not at first glance.

After a more attentive look, we catch the only likely place relevant to Said Nursi’s personality – the First Purpose of the 30th Word – where he explains a story that he saw like a dream in the period of his transition from the “Old Said” to the “New Said.” This story includes three journeys made to the other side of the earth: through the earth, on the earth, and over the earth. He uses this story as a type of symbolism, from which certain truths can be revealed. Yet, he barely elaborates on them, leaving his readers eager to discover the truths on their own. In this article, we are going to focus on his journey through the earth, what it entailed, and what one can make from it.

Journey through the Earth

The following is the first part of the aforementioned fictional story, in which he covers the journey through the earth:

I saw myself in a vast desert. A layer of murky, dispiriting, and suffocating cloud had covered the whole face of the earth. There was neither breeze, nor light, nor water, none of these was to be found. I imagined that everywhere was full of monsters, dangerous and dreadful creatures. It occurred to me that on the other side of this land there should be light, breeze, and water. It was necessary to get there. I realized that I was being driven on involuntarily. Under the earth I wormed my way into a tunnel-like cave and gradually travelled through the earth. I saw that many people had passed along this subterranean way before me on all sides; they were drowned. I saw their footprints, and once I heard some of their voices, then later they ceased.

…

Gradually I realized that I had been given two things to use. One was a torch; it would scatter the darkness of that subterranean nature. The other was a device, which, by smashing mighty boulders and huge rocks, would open a way for me. I was told: “This torch and device have been given to you from the treasury of the Qur’an.” So, I carried on for a long time in this way. Then suddenly I realized that I had come out on the other side. I saw a world where everywhere there was rejoicing, bright sunshine in a most beautiful springtime and an invigorating breeze and delicious life-giving water. I said: “All praise be to God!”

Paradigms for deciphering the story

In his brief explanation of this story, Bediuzzaman alludes to the two approaches to creation: one guided by naturalism and other guided by the Qur’an. For example, he says that the land corresponds to nature, and the two sides of it are of two different views; one based on materialistic science, the other based on Qur’anic interpretation. He also explains that the subterranean way is the way of the naturalists. The sounds and traces he saw along the subterranean way belonged to those who ventured the same journey with inapt guidance and power. The two devices are given to him through the Qur’an.

However, he gives no clue about the two devices. The meaning of the rocks and the dark that prevails in the subterranean way is also absent. And, for the entire story, a logical reasoning behind the connections between the symbolism and reality is not revealed. Most of all, his brief explanation is veiling an important but unanswered question: What does this story have to do with his personality and transitioning into the “New Said”? He was a firm believer both before and after this event, so we cannot say that this transition was from naturalism to the Qur’an. Therefore, in order to decipher the symbolism and build paradigms for further discoveries, we have to read between the lines and check out other places in his writing, bearing in mind our goal: to learn about his personality and transitioning.

The Earth

In the 30th Word, Nursi tells us that the nature and the ego are analog. If we ponder on this, we see that nature is a work of art which is weaved into the earth; as a matter of fact, the earth is the biggest component of nature. Then it follows that earth in the story is the macro icon for the ego. So, it is fair to rename his “journey through the earth” the “journey through the ego”. But, is this a sound finding?

Well, this finding of ours is indeed confirmed by clues given in other places in the Risale-i Nur collection: human is a minor universe, and universe is a major human. We also know that the earth is the center of humanity in the universe. Based on these last three points, if we were to condense the universe to a human size, the earth would become the ego of that human being. Conversely, if we were to expand a human to the size of the universe, his ego would become the earth.

Along the same lines, the creation of mankind in the universe took place long after the creation of the universe itself. This is very much like the development of our self-consciousness, in other words our ego, years after our birth into the world. This similarity agrees with the analogy between the human and the universe; and so, it is another confirmation for the finding that the earth in the story corresponds to the ego.

Journey through the Earth

Now, we are at a point where we can reconsider the question on the personality of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. The transitioning to the New Said, hence the journey through the earth, can be understood as an internal conversion that he experienced and which changed his vision of the world. Interestingly, not only is this confirmed in various places in the Risale-i Nur collection, but it is also in agreement with the findings of modern psychology. He experienced this transition in his late forties, which corresponds to a possible mid-life crisis, triggered by several traumatic events in his life, such as the First World War; his captivity in Russia, the destruction of the Ottoman State and subjugation of the Muslim world by the West; the onset of his old age and the loss of his most beloved nephew, Abdurrahman. , , … In other words, all of these convolutions in the outer world corresponded with Bediuzzaman’s inner world, which altogether called for a re-evaluation and a fundamental change.

This is a major clue that reveals most of the answers we are looking for. The side that he starts off is the one that bears all the convoluted figures and forms. Suddenly, he is inspired that there is hope on the other side and he wants desperately to get there. At this point, he is not aware of the fact that this journey is actually a journey that will bring about change. Yet, his desire for the journey to peace is employed through his fate, and he is motivated to surmount the difficulties on this path of transformation.

During the journey, he is driven to the entrance of an underground tunnel. Then, he is left on his own for a while, at which time he hears sounds and sees traces of the travelers who tried going down this path before, but who failed due to a lack of divine guidance. These travelers were the ones that he once considered to be sources of wisdom. After seeing their failure in that underground tunnel, he is psychologically prepared to fully embrace the devices that are going to be given to him from the Qur’an.

Two Devices

In the 23rd Word, Bediuzzaman tells another visionary story that very explicitly describes what the darkness and light are. The darkness is lack of knowledge, and the light is knowledge associated with some wisdom. In his case, the knowledge is gained by a believer’s perception, which is shaped by the wisdom of the Qur’an, hence the luminary device. Later, we will see that this same luminary device represents wisdom that not only reconciles, but also satisfies the mind and the heart under divine guidance.

As for the meaning of rocks and the device used for digging, we need to make an exhaustive search for clues. First, a travel through the earth would take us to the parts of the earth that had been formed during our planet’s past. Again, using the analogy of the human ego and the earth, we can conclude that the journey through the ego involves a journey through a period in which our personality is formed, meaning the past life. Yet, exploring one’s own past with investigative eyes is not as straightforward as it sounds. There are difficult boulders along the way, representing the ever increasing stiffness of the conditionings of the mind, especially at an older age. So the question we are facing now is “what were the mental conditionings of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi?”

This is not an easy question, and we are risking being disrespectful towards his personality by using this daring language. However, for the sake of learning a way to the truth through his life experiences, we will take shelter under his forgiveness.

Bediuzzaman’s mental conditionings can be understood when comparing his life before and after this transition. Before the transition, we see a person who openly challenges all scholars of his time. He is one who would sternly fight against the anti-Islamic ideologies, and who would fight in wars. During this period, Said Nursi not only represents a man of knowledge, but also a man of action. Having been involved in politics and leadership, he seeks salvation for his nation through reviving the education system and establishing the practice of religion in the government and all levels of society.

If we were to take an overall look at his activities and try to trace their mental and psychological roots, we could see the understanding of Islam at that time. This understanding was based mostly on the narration of centuries-old interpretations and jurisdictions. It was optimized according to a state-regulated religious practice that had been in existence since very soon after the time of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Under such conditions, it was nearly impossible for a person to formulate a religious perspective that does not involve the state or politics.

Among the religious circles, the scientific and philosophical innovations of the time that were being developed in western countries were considered potential enemies to the state and to Islam. Thus, any contact or interaction with the West was strongly discouraged by religious authorities. The only reason for establishing such contact would be for the purpose of trade or obtaining their technology to regain power over them . All of these reactionary ideas were of course based on sincere religious sensitivities, whose roots had been embedded throughout Islamic history. Said Nursi’s preconditioning by this atmosphere is no exception.

However, when we look at the actual events in the face of all these reactions based on religious sensitivities, we see that western philosophies were spreading among the educated classes, and an admiration for western countries was prevailing. Blind imitation of the social practices of Westerners was uprooting the moral values of the Ottoman society. Worst of all, the challenges raised by scientific philosophy against religion were not met with satisfactory answers from the religious authorities.

In time, conservative people became outnumbered, and eventually withdrew from the social life. Those who were involved in the innovations from the West lost their religious and cultural roots. There was a clear defeat on the side of the religious people, despite their conviction of having the truth at their side. This complex situation bewildered the defeated minds for a long time, because they could not justify their failure with having truth at the same time. They could not find the answers to what it was that the West had right and the East had wrong.. Recourse to blind faith did not do any good for the new generations, but only made things worse.

The above-mentioned paragraphs were aimed at bringing us back to the conditions of the time, in which the Old Said lived; hence the conditioning in his mind symbolized as the rocks in the story. Just like other scholars, Said Nursi’s mindset was not conducive to fully explain the situation or to bring forth a path of salvation. Nobody was really able to figure out what God meant through the language of the events, and what He wanted from Muslims.

After so many paragraphs, we are almost ready to discover what that rock-breaking device is and to understand the meaning of clearing the subterranean way. As a last clue, we are going to look at the method Bediuzzaman used in the period after the emergence of the New Said.

Having been given a unique understanding of the Qur’an, e.g. the illumination device, by which he can justify human scientific inquiry and religion and by which he can utilize the scientific knowledge in service to the Qur’an, Said Nursi begins authoring the Risale-i Nur Collection. This collection introduces the articles of faith to the human mind in a rational way. Belief in the unseen becomes no more a matter of blind faith, and millions of people run towards this source of light. Thus, the service of establishing firm belief in minds, instead of striving towards establishing a religious state, becomes his ultimate dedication in life.

In fulfilling his service, Bediuzzaman follows a path that is totally devoid of politics. He uses a language and style that is very polite and welcoming compared to his style in the Old Said period. He calls this “qawl al-layyin” (mild language, gentle words), which necessitates convincing people instead of preaching to them and which precludes the use of power. Qawl al-layyin becomes his second device, which breaks the rock-like conditionings in his own and in other people’s minds. This was revolutionary for its time, and something that the entire believing world, including himself, was in dire need of. The All-Compassionate and the All-Wise God facilitated his method, and guided him along the way.

Knowing his life story before and after the transition, we can see that the changes in his life were actually pointed out in a dream before the First World War. In his dream, Mount Ararat suddenly explodes, and huge pieces of the mountain fly all around the world. It so happens that he is watching this event with his mother. After the explosion, he says to her, “Mom, don’t be scared. This is God’s command. He is compassionate and wise.” Then, suddenly a man of high stature appears and tells him to explain the miraculousness of the Qur’an. Said Nursi, himself, interprets this dream as the coming of a severe attack on the Qur’an, and as a result the collapse of the protective walls around it. Then, he realizes that his service will be to protect the Qur’an by explaining its miraculousness.

We can take a second look at this dream having the subject matter of this article in our minds. The co-presence of the Old Said and his mom in the dream could very well be interpreted as the blending of wisdom and compassion, respectively, in the person of the New Said who is given the mission of explaining the miraculousness of the Qur’an. The rocks that make up the mountains in his dream are the same rocks in the journey we are investigating. We know that the scholars at all times strived for the true understanding and interpretation of the Qur’an. They tried to protect the religion from the attacks of disbelievers. However, over time, due to the imitative and narrative habits that developed among the Muslims, the body of knowledge accrued by these scholars, which was intended to be like the city walls around the Qur’an, became a veil preventing people from reaching the Qur’an itself, or the truth in it for that matter. Thus, the attacks of the disbelievers, which were aimed at destroying the religion, were employed by the Compassionate and Wise God to break down the veils surrounding the Qur’an, exposing people to the truth in it. Looking back from the present, we see that all the attacks on religion, especially on Islam in the present context, only resulted in people’s rediscovering the religion in its original purity. For this rediscovery, the writings of Bediuzzaman have provided a straight path for the mind to embrace the pillars of faith.

Finally, we can combine all of the findings so far. The first device he is given is the wisdom of the Qur’an, which unites the human mind and heart. The second device is compassion, reflected on a believer’s dealing with other people (qawl al-layyin). With these two devices, he is neither lost on the way nor out of power, and finally reaches the truth under the Divine guidance. Having used these devices extensively in his life, Said Nursi tells in The Letters that in the part of his life representing the New Said, he has especially observed the manifestations of two names of the Almighty: The Compassionate and The Wise.

Implications of the First Journey to Light

Upon his exit to the other side in the story, Said Nursi finds the fresh air and sunshine that he has been starving for since the beginning. With the consequent expanse of heart, he now feels that he is in the place that he is meant to be. Thus, the start of a new life is the first implication of his journey through himself, or through his ego.

In his journey to this beauty, he encounters darkness and hardship. The extreme contrast witnessed before and after the journey sharpens his sensitivity and enables him to fully appreciate the beauties he comes to discover. The same sensitivity helps him realize the beauties that are hidden under the veil of familiarity. Then, an enhanced sensitivity towards the beauties, which are signs from God, is the second implication of his journey.

With his contemplations during and after his transition and with the aid of his enhanced sensitivity, the New Said writes the Risale-i Nur Collection, and it becomes the Noah’s Ark for many who were drowning in the tide of scientific materialism. Even today, his work that combines the mind and heart saves the faith of new generations. So the third implication of his journey is the change of events and people surrounding him .

A journey for everyone

The above-mentioned discussion is very much like deciphering a map that leads to a treasure. This underground journey, or the journey through the ego, tells us once again that the more we are aware of our selves, the closer we are to God. As a response of approval, God changes the things we are not capable of changing on our own; and this fortifies our reliance on and love for God. Although the subject-person here is Said Nursi, the journey through the ego and its implications can be useful to anyone who is on a journey towards God.

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. Nursi, Said. The Gleams, 26th Gleam, 14th Hope, NJ: The Light, Inc., 2008, p. 354.

2. Nursi. The Words, 30th Word, First Purpose, NJ: The Light, Inc., 2005.

3. Nursi. 20th Letter, Letters, Volume 2, pp 16, Truestar Publications.

4. Nursi. Epitomes of Light, 11th Treatise, Izmir: Kaynak Publications, 1999, p. 439.

5. Jung, C.G. The Basic Postulates of Analytical Psychology, Modern Man in Search of a Soul, Translated by W.S. Dell and Cary F. Baynes, Harcourt, Inc., 1933.

6. Nursi, 2008, 5th Hope.

7. Nursi, 2008, 7th Hope.

8. Nursi, 2008, 12th Hope.

9. Nursi, 2005, 23rd Word, 1st Matter, 2nd Point.

10. Lewis, Bernard. What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East, NY: Perennial, 2003, pp. 43.

11. Nursi, The Letters, 4th Letter, NJ: The Light, Inc., 2007.

12. “Surely God changes not the conditions of a people, unless He changes what is with their selves” (Qur’an 13:11).