If the universe was expanding, then it had to be smaller in the past, and there could even be a moment when the entire universe appeared as a tiny mass. A group of physicists who took these findings seriously, started theoretical research regarding the birth of the universe (that is, the space-time and all of the matter within) and its evolution. Another group of physicists still thought that the universe should have no beginning and insisted in their conception of a static universe. One of these physicists, Hoyle, made a statement during a BBC radio program in order to criticize the idea of an expanding universe and used the phrase “big bang” for the first time. Later on, the phrase, initially used in a sarcastic manner, started to be used as the name of the expanding universe model. It was an entirely new model no scientist had even imagined before. Accordingly, there had to be an electromagnetic radiation (cosmic microwave background radiation) which would emerge after the explosion—this can be compared to the smoke of a gun right after a fired shot. After Penzias and Wilson observed this electro-magnetic radiation in 1964, the doubts about the model disappeared almost completely. As technology developed over time, so many different observations and sensitive measures were made and taken in support of this theory. Since there is no other cosmological model to explain the present data, the Big Bang model has general acceptance among physicists today. We would like to relate some facts about the universe based on contemporary observations and theories before we expand our discussion.

What we know about the Universe

Galaxies are typical formations throughout the universe. The Milky Way galaxy, which hosts our solar system, is a disc-shaped one. The measurements revealed that the diameter of this “disc” is 100,000 light years and its thickness is 1000 light years (one light year is approximately ten trillion kilometers). There are approximately 100 billion other stars in the Milky Way galaxy similar to our sun. Owing to gravitational attraction, the number density of the stars near the center of the galaxy is higher—for the same reason, black holes are thought to exist in the centers of galaxies. The stars visible to the naked eye at night are the ones within the Milky Way galaxy. When further distances are observed through telescopes, other galaxies begin coming to sight as bright spots. Galaxies form galaxy clusters and the clusters form super-galaxy clusters. Even light year appears to be an unimportant unit of measurement in order to express these dazzling great distances. The most successful model we know that describes the universe is Einstein’s theory of relativity. According to this theory, space-time is a dynamic object and it can be curved. As for the force we feel as gravity, it is an outcome of the curved nature of space-time. The Big Bang model appears naturally within the general Theory of Relativity. The essential data we are going to relate here about the universe is mostly based on observations and general theory of relativity.

According to the Big Bang model, the universe was born in a very hot and dense form nearly 13.7 billion years ago. Here, we need to remember that the concepts of “time” and “space” as we know them came to being with the Big Bang. Therefore, asking what was there before the Big Bang is meaningless for this model. Similarly, the common notion of expansion brings to mind something expanding inside something else. However, it is possible to describe the universe without any notions of inside or outside expansion. That is, we do not have to assume another environment inside which the universe expands.

One of the important suggestions of the Big Bang Model is the fact that the universe was at a state of thermal equilibrium in the past. There is important data based on observation in support of this suggestion. Therefore, even though the term Big Bang brings to mind a chaotic happening, there was a very important state of equilibrium at the emergence of the universe. So many physicists have underlined the fact that this state of equilibrium is impossible to happen on its own. Our universe was born out of a very hot and dense state of equilibrium and it began to cool down as it expanded. The heat in the early periods was so high that matter was found in a plasma state formed by the smallest constituents of matter. As the heat decreased, the plasma also changed structure and different cosmic phases took place. For instance, when the heat dropped down to 1010 C atomic nuclei began to form out of neutrons and protons. When it dropped to 3000 C, atoms were formed. There are many observations in support of these different phases. For example, the electro-magnetic background radiation observed by Penzias and Wilson in 1964 is formed out of photons (i.e. light) released after the phase in which the first atoms are formed. The Big Bang model has so many more important details and the calculations made according to this model have been in conformity with observations. Together with that, it should be noted that as the known physics get closer to the moment of the bang (zero time), it loses validity and new theories are needed.

The expansion of the universe in the Qur’an

The Qur’an openly refers to the expansion of the universe. The 47th verse of the 51 chapter (Dhariyat) is translated as follows:

And the heaven, We have constructed it mightily; and it is surely We Who have vast power, and keep expanding it. (51:47)

The original Arabic phrase used, which refers to expansion, is “musiun.” The interesting point is that the sentence is a noun clause which denotes in Arabic grammar a quality of being steady and continuous. Therefore, the meaning can be understood as being “we are expanding it continuously.” According to the Big Bang model, the universe has constantly been expanding ever since it was born. Expressing this fact by saying “We are expanding it,” the Qur’an also guides us to acknowledge that the expanding does not happen in itself but is realized by Divine power.

Other verses related to the Big Bang

The 30th verse of the chapter Anbiya is translated as follows:

Do those who disbelieve ever consider that the heavens and the earth were at first one piece, and then We parted them as separate entities; and that We have made every living thing from water? Will they still not come to believe? (Anbiya 21:30)

According to some scholars of Qur’anic exegesis, the phrase ratq (joined together, one piece) and fataqnahuma (We parted them) can be alluding to the moment of the Big Bang. As we have tried to summarize above, the entire universe was a single and very small mass and then started to expand and grow. As the universe expanded, the matter it contained began to expand and occupy a larger volume. As the universe expanded, its contents also began to separate from one another. So the phrases mentioned might be alluding to this chain of events. Together with that, some scholars thought that this verse alludes to the formation of the solar system, earth, and its atmosphere. The reason is that the verse continues with referring to the creation of living things. Accordingly, ratq might be referring to the phase when the solar system was a single mass and fataqnahuma might be referring to the planets and the earth breaking away from the sun and the formation of the atmosphere. It should be noted that systems forming within galaxies are also considered in the Big Bang model, which is used for referring to all of the phases from the time of zero to ours. Therefore, both possible explanations can be related to this model.

Another phrase which can be related to the Big Bang is the “Originator (Fatir) of the heavens and the earth” used in many different verses (e.g. Yusuf 12:101). Similarly, there is another verse expressing this reality with a verb from the same root (fatarahunna): …your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, Who has originated them each (Anbiya 21:56). Normally the phrase “fatara” is translated as “created.” In his study of Qur’anic exegesis (not available in English), Hamdi Yazir (1877-1942) points to the fact that the root “fatara” means to “split” or “split lengthwise,” and to originate something for the first time without a prior model. When these meanings of “fatara” are taken into consideration, “Originator (Fatir) of the heavens and the earth” can be an allusion to the Big Bang. Let us remember the fact that the Big Bang particularly refers to the very moment of the first creation. Therefore, the meaning “to originate something for the first time without a prior model” might be referring to this quality of the Big Bang. In addition, the word “split” expresses the moment of this great explosion better than the word “bang”; and so the beginning of space-time can be compared to splitting of a seed and its emergence.

One of the alternative meanings of “fatara” mentioned by Yazir, “split lengthwise” is very interesting. One of the important misconceptions about the Big Bang is to imagine that the universe was born in a certain spot and began expanding within another space. The Big Bang did not take place at a single spot. According to our theoretical understanding today, the entire space came into being altogether in a single moment. In other words, the Big Bang took place everywhere. When we consider the meaning “split lengthwise,” it might be an allusion to the fact that the Big Bang did not take place at a single point.

Conclusion

Considering the points we have tried to summarize above, the Qur’anic verses related to the creation of the universe can be defined as evidently miraculous. Surely, it is possible to expound on the subject from different aspects. For example we can think about a relation between the phrase “the seven heavens” used in many different verses in the Qur’an and the different phases after the Big Bang (although it is not possible pinpoint the exact number of these phases, figures like seven or seventy are metaphorically used in Arabic for referring to something in relevant multitude). Or they might be referring to some extra dimensions suggested by certain theories (The String Theory, one of the most-studied theories in recent years suggests the existence of seven extra dimensions).

Finally, we would like to underline that this article is an elementary attempt. What needs to be done more seriously is to form a board of scholars, particularly from the fields of cosmology and Qur’anic exegesis, and evaluate systematically all the verses related to the subject, and then try to analyze and understand them without any biased opinions. Such a study can provide deeper insight into the Qur’anic message.

Ali Kaya is a professor of physics in Bogazici University, Istanbul.

Note: This article was translated from Turkish by Korkut Altay.

Nursi says that people are “connected with almost all beings” and because of this “a boundless capacity to love [these things] has been included in [our] nature[s].” However, even though individuals have the freedom to love transient things, these finite objects cannot fulfill them in the same way as the Enduring One (al-Baqi) can. What most people do not realize is that they “constantly suffer the pain of separation” because their infinite capacity for love, which has been given to them by God, is not fulfilled by things of this world. Like Rumi’s reed-flute, people yearn for a return to their reed-bed. By “misusing [their love] and spending it on transitory beings, [people have] done wrong and suffer the punishment for [this] fault through the pain of separation.” Individuals do not need to live in the state of suffering, however, and Nursi’s Third Flash offers them a way to transcend it.

The first part of the Sufi phrase calls people to sever that desire give one’s love to the finite things of this world. True, “the shadows of the shadows of the manifestation of His Most Beautiful Names” are beautiful and able to be loved in this world, but they themselves are not God and are not fit for the love that only God deserves. When people love only things of this world, they suffer; when they focus their love on the Enduring One (al-Baqi) they are brought closer to God and are fulfilled in ways not of this world. When they sever their ties to finite love, they open themselves to a Higher Love, an Infinite Love. The purpose of the first part of the Sufi phrase is to comfort people with knowledge of an Ever Enduring Love, and remind them that the love of this world pales in comparison to God’s everlasting love.

The second part of the Sufi phrase not only heals people’s spiritual wounds, but also acts to satisfy “the intense wish for immortality in [their] natures[s].” Nursi says that people long for immortality, because God is immortal and “the matter most important to [people], [their] most pressing duty is to form a relation with the Enduring One,” who is immortal. By placing their love in the finite, in loving only things of this world, people are limiting their capacities for Eternal Love and as a result they suffer. The only fulfilling love is love for the al-Baqi, the Enduring One, the Immortal and Undying Love of God. Once human beings separate themselves from the love of this world, as the first part of the Sufi phrase directs, people can then be healed by the knowledge that God is the Enduring One, and God’s love will never fade away.

Nursi insists that it is not only possible, but preferable, to live a life of infinite love in the present moment. To explain this point, he uses the illustration of the hands of a clock:

Just as the hands of a clock counting the seconds, and those counting the minutes, hours, and days superficially resemble each other, but differ in respect to speed, so too the spheres of the body, soul, heart, and spirit in man differ from each other.

Nursi says that the spiritual nature of humans is not bound by time. Yes, the physical existence of people’s pasts are extinct, and their futures not yet existent, but the present moment in which they live, in the minutes and hours that they live for the Love of God, they are immortal-“Yes, one second on the way of love, knowledge, and pleasure of the Truly Enduring One is a year.” Although it may often seem that “time flies when we are having fun,” in reality a “moment’s union for God’s sake within the bounds of the Enduring One of Glory’s pleasure is a window of union, not only for a [moment], but [permanently].” Speaking of the human perception of time and place, Nursi seems to anticipate Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity-“The broad Earth with enemies is like a drinking-glass, while the eye of a needle with friends is like a broad arena.” Understanding this imagery, a moment in God’s love can be an eternity of pleasure and fulfillment, and a moment without God’s love can seem like an eternity of suffering. It is because of this that Nursi, and the multitudes of Muslims before him and since, have prayed the five prescribed daily prayers to God. Through prayer Muslims are linked to God and are reminded of God’s Enduring Love; and through remembrance of the Enduring Love of God the transitory becomes eternal (baqi).

Sufi tradition also gives two other images for this enduring love: that of the fabric of life, and that of the “conveyor belt.” For the first image, life is seen as fabric. If during one’s life a person does nothing of merit, nothing of love for God, then the fabric remains plain, unbeautiful, and transient. If one does bad things and denies God’s love, the fabric becomes dirty and tattered and the fabric suffers. However, if one does what is beautiful and one remembers the Enduring One, flowers are embroidered on the fabric and these flowers last through all eternity, sustained by God’s Infinite Love. Likewise, the image of the conveyor belt symbolizes the transience of this world-for every deed done in this life, something goes on to the next. If one does nothing beautiful, nothing for God, then nothing is placed on the conveyor belt and nothing goes into the next life. If one does bad things or good things in this life, then these things go on into the next life, not to be seen again until death. One day, the conveyor belt stops and at that moment there is nothing left that one can do.

Similar to the Catholic Jesuit notion of Ad Meiorem Dei Gloriam (that is, living for the Greater Glory of God), Nursi’s reflections on the work of humans for God alludes to how spiritually profitable a life devoted to God can be:

Serve for the sake of God, meet with others for the sake of God, work for the sake of God; make all of your actions ‘in God, for God, and to God,’ then, all the moments of your life will become like years.

When working for the sake of God, when loving people for the sake of God, when living life for God;, a moment is like a year. Just as in our dreams a day can seem like a year, a life dedicated to and in love with God can feel like an eternity-in fact, a moment with God is an eternity, a glimpse of the Enduring Love of God.

This Sufi phrase of al-Baqi, which is formed under the name of God, ‘al-Baqi,’ calls people to cut ties with the finite love that this world offers. It also comforts human beings by reminding them that only God’s infinite love can bring us healing, fulfillment, and an everlasting union. In his Third Flash, Nursi eloquently affirms that within the Love of God there is the promise of an Enduring Love, a love that cannot be found in the worldly shadows alone.

Michael David Graskemper is a graduate student at John Carroll University, Department of Religious Studies

Reference

Nursi, Bediuzzaman Said, The Flashes Collection, Sozler Nesriyat, Istanbul: 1995, pp 29, 30.

The availability of CNN worldwide (media), the growth in international organizations (political), and McDonald’s (economic and cultural) illustrate the diverse factors driving globalization. In addition, it is important to recognize that globalization, as an issue, is linked to capitalism’s triumph in the Cold War. The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, pointed out that its opponents see globalization as “an ideology of predatory capitalism.”²

Hardt and Negri: Empire

Michael Hardt is a professor of literature at Duke University, and Antonio Negri is currently an inmate at Rebibbia Prison, Rome.³ Their book Empire, a post-Marxist attempt to analyze capitalism/globalism proposes the following simple thesis: “Globalization is a symptom of the new Empire. The new Empire is a result of the demise of the sovereignty of the nation state. However, ‘throughout the contemporary transformations, political controls, state functions, and regulatory mechanisms have continued to rule the realm of economic and social production and exchange. Our basic hypothesis is that sovereignty has taken a new form, composed of a series of national and supranational organisms united under a single logic of rule. This new global form of sovereignty is what we call Empire’…⁴ As national sovereignty declines, however, ‘Empire’ emerges. Empire, or globalization, is the latest strategy of the wealthy and powerful to control the weak and powerless. It has a number of advantages over the traditional nation state that it has displaced. First, it has no boundaries. Second, it is attempting to create this myth that it is simply the logical expression of certain economic laws. Third, it wants to shape every aspect of human life. And finally, it shelters behind the rhetoric of peace.”⁵

The study makes much of the decline of state sovereignty. It documents, with some care, the distinctive set of historical and social conditions that gave birth to the idea that a particular people within a particular boundary are sovereign over their actions. It notes that this was often a device that protected tyranny, and that the European Enlightenment had strong tendencies toward racism and colonialism.

Where traditional national sovereignty was grounded in a “transcendent” ruler (e.g., the king over his people), the Empire uses capital to operate on the plane of immanence “through relays and networks of relationships of domination, without reliance on a transcendent center of power…. In the passage of sovereignty toward the plane of immanence, the collapse of boundaries has taken place within each national context and on a global scale.”⁶ Capitalism is not simply about power over resources; it is also about the relationship of religion and ethics to economic life.

The danger in this debate about globalization is that we confine our reflections to the political left (i.e., those with socialist sympathies) and the political right (i.e., those with capitalist sympathies). To prevent this, we turn to Said Nursi. If I am right in stressing the religious factors at the heart of capitalism and globalization, we should expect to learn something from Nursi.

Four Themes in Said Nursi

It is dangerous to apply the ideas of great thinkers to problems that they did not experience. Said Nursi (1877-1960) experienced the concluding years of the Ottoman Caliphate, the First World War, and the establishment of the aggressively secular Republic of Turkey (1923). He responded to modernity’s challenge to belief with the Risale-i Nur (the Treatise of Light).

Although he does not mention globalization, his work contains four relevant themes. The first of these is that it is appropriate to build bridges between Western scientific culture and the Islamic world. Nursi believed that the best of modernity is compatible with and anticipated in Islamic thought. For example, he writes: “Things like the airplane, electricity, railways, and the telegraph have come into existence as wonders of science and technology as the result of humanity’s progress in science and industry. Surely the All-Wise Qur’an, which addresses all of humanity, does not neglect these. Indeed, it has not neglected them.”⁷

He argues that the Qur’an anticipates such technological advances. This enthusiasm for scientific achievement underpins his “natural theology” (i.e., the world itself provides good and decisive arguments for God’s Existence). After discussing various scientific disciplines, he concludes: “Through the certain testimony of hundreds of sciences like these, the universe has been adorned with innumerable instances of wisdom, purposes, and beneficial things within a faultless, perfect order. And the order and wisdom given through that wondrous, all-encompassing wisdom to the totality of the universe have been included in small measure in seeds and in the tiniest living creatures. It is clear and self-evident that aims, purposes, in-stances of wisdom, and benefits can only be followed through choice, will, intention, and volition, not through any other way. Just as they could not be the work of unconscious causes and Nature, which lack will, choice, and purpose, so too they could not interfere in them.”⁸

Nursi saw science as part of God’s intended purpose for humanity: “The miracles of the other prophets all indicate a wonder of human art or craft, and Adam’s miracle indicates in concise form, besides the fundamentals of those crafts, the index of the sciences and branches of knowl-edge, and of the wonders and perfections, and urges humanity toward them.”⁹

His confidence that Islam endorses modern-ity’s technological dynamic, a major feature of globalization, is reflected in this vision of the future. Writing about Nursi, one author states: “Indeed, as we shall see when examining the [Damascus] Sermon, Bediuzzaman [Nursi] predicted that, according to all the signs, Islam and Islamic–or, true–civilization would prevail in the future, and that the majority of mankind would accept and join the religion of Islam. He said: ‘In the future when reason, science and technology hold sway, that will surely be the time the Qur’an will gain ascendancy, which relies on rational proofs and makes the reason confirm its pronouncements.’”¹⁰ In other words, the truth of the Qur’an will be recognized when reason, science, and technology hold sway in the world.

Many who are sympathetic to religion tend to see modernity, as well as the growth of technology and globalization, as evils to be opposed. However, Nursi argues that the achievements of science, modernity, communication, and globalization need to be recognized as representing the best of the human spirit and humanity’s creativity. In addition, they are made possible by the God-designed order of the universe.

Themes two to four are far more critical. The second theme is that society must accommodate in a just way the inequalities of wealth. While Nursi assumes that some inequality is inevitable, he maintains the need for balance:

“. . . just as the source of mankind’s revolutions is one phrase, so another phrase is the origin of all immorality. First Phrase: ‘So long as I’m full, what is it to me if others die of hunger.’ Second Phrase: ‘You work so that I can eat.’ Yes, the upper and lower classes in human society, that is, the rich and the poor, live at peace when in equilibrium. The basis of that equilibrium is compassion and kindness in the upper classes, and respect and obedience in the lower classes. Now, the first phrase has incited the upper classes to practice oppression, immorality, and mercilessness. And just as the second has driven the lower classes to hatred, envy, and to contend the upper classes, and has negated human tranquility for several centuries, so too this century, as the result of the struggle between capital and labor, it has been the cause of the momentous events of Europe well-known by all. Thus, together with all its societies for good works, all its establishments for the teaching of ethics, all its severe discipline and regulations, it could not reconcile these two classes of humanity, nor could it heal the two fearsome wounds in human life. The Qur’an, how-ever, eradicates the first phrase with its injunction to pay zakat, and heals it. While it uproots the second phrase with its prohibition on usury and interest, and cures that. Indeed, the Qur’anic verse stands at the door of the world and declares usury and interest to be forbidden. It reads out its decree to mankind, saying: ‘In order to close the door of strife, close the door of usury and interest!’ It forbids its students to enter it.”¹¹

There are two strategies for balancing inequal-ity: obligatory charity, which falls heavier on the rich, and forbidding usury. Implied in this is the fact that economic globalization becomes problematic when inequality is not managed. Some nations are fortunate and benefit from globalization, while others struggle with it. Nursi’s proposal has much to commend it: fortunate nations are obliged to help unfortunate ones, and IMF loans should not require a prohibitive repayment schedule. Also, debt cancellation is appropriate, given the detrimental contracts negotiated in the mid-1970s by Western financial institutions. The overall point is that inequality needs to be managed with considerable care.

The third theme is that all wealth and property ultimately should be entrusted to God. Nursi speaks of a king with two subjects. One allows the king to hold the property in trust; the other insists on sole ownership. The first subject experiences positive results; the second one eventually becomes an object of pity. According to Nursi: “Transient property becomes everlasting. For this waning life, when given to the Eternal and Self-Subsistent Lord of Glory and spent for His sake, it will be transmuted into eternity. It will yield eternal fruits. The moments of one’s life will apparently vanish and rot like kernels and seeds. But then the flowers of blessedness and auspiciousness will open and bloom in the realm of eternity, and each will also present a luminous and reassuring aspect in the Intermediate Realm.”¹²

This fundamental religious insight should shape our view of globalization. As life is transitory, we can see possessions as ends in themselves or as a means to serve God’s purposes. In the latter case, we seek to make globalization feed the hungry, educate the ignorant, bring hope to the hopeless, and so on by entrusting what we have to God.

The fourth theme is that not all of the West’s achievements should be seen as part of the march of progress. He has harsh words for uncritical supporters of European progress, especially when it is at the cost of religion: “O miserable pseudo-patriot who fervently encourages Muslims to embrace this world and forcibly drives them to European industry and progress! Beware, do not let the bonds with which certain members of this nation are tied to religion be broken! If thus, foolishly, blindly imitating and crushed under foot, their bonds with religion are broken those irreligious people will become as harmful for the life of society as fatal poison.”¹³ The meaning is clear: Together with the third theme, globalization should not become the goal in itself, but rather should serve a vision of social organization that allows humanity’s spiritual dimension to grow and develop.

Concluding Reflections

Unlike the entrenched positions of Hardt and Negri, Nursi offers a far more nuanced approach. To interpret capitalism simply as the tool of the powerful to retain control of as much wealth as possible distorts reality. Capitalism has its roots in certain religious dispositions and has generated vast wealth. It offers many dangers as well as many possibilities.

This is also true of globalization. Nursi certainly would recognize globalization’s technological and scientific underpinning as good. However, he also would want to make sure that globalization works for the good by creating strong safeguards against the vast inequality engendered by so much wealth. I believe that he would have strongly supported the debt-cancellation campaign and agreed that the world’s economic life is intended to serve humanity’s spiritual vision. Generating wealth for itself is madness; generating wealth so that all people can live full God-directed lives is a vision. Globalization might make the latter possible, and all of us should work toward that end.

* Ian Markham is Dean of Hartford Seminary, Hartford, Connecticut.

Footnotes

1. Robertson, R., “Globalization and the Future of ‘Traditional Religion,” in God and Globalization, eds. Max L. Stackhouse with Peter J. Paris, Harrisburg, PA, Trinity Press International: 2000, Vol. I, pp. 53-54.
2. As quoted in ibid., Vol. I, p. 5.
3. A writer, professor at the University of Padua and Marxist political activist, Negri was arrested on 7 April 1979 on the charge of “armed insurrection against the powers of the State.” Acquitted and released after 4 years in jail, he fled to France to avoid re-imprisonment. He returned to Italy in 1997, turned himself in, and received a 13-year sentence. (http://www.notbored.org/negri.html.)
4. Hardt, M., Negri, A., Empire, Harvard University Press: 2000, p. xii.
5. Ibid., pp. xiv-xv.
6. Ibid., pp. 326-32.
7. Nursi, S., The Second Station of the Twentieth Word, The Words, Sozler Publications, Istanbul: 2002
8. Ibid., 3:408.
9. Ibid., 1:272.
10. Sukran Vahide, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Sozler Publications, Istanbul: 1992, p. 90.
11. Nursi, S., The Words, Sozler Publications, Istanbul: 2002, p.421.
12. Ibid., 1:38.
13. Ibid., 3:168.

The first phrase: There is no god but God

This phrase provides for the human spirit, which is subject to innumerable needs and vulnerable to the attacks of countless enemies, an inexhaustible source of help. It opens for it the door to a treasury of mercy that can secure all its needs. In the phrase is a point of support that shows and makes known to the spirit its Master and Owner; its Creator; its true Object of worship, who possesses an absolute power that will secure it against the evil of all its enemies. In this way, this mighty phrase saves the heart from utter desolation and the spirit from grievous suffering, it is forever uplifting and the means of a continual felicity.

The second phrase: (He is) One

This phrase implies the following happy news, both healing and auspicious: the human spirit, which is connected to most species in the universe, and is overwhelmed in misery and confusion because of that connection, finds in the phrase ‘(He is) One’ a refuge and saviour that will deliver it from all that confusion and misery.

This phrase means to man

‘God is One. So do not tire yourself out seeking recourse to other things; do not demean yourself and feel obliged before them; do not humiliate yourself for security before them; do not give yourself trouble by following them, and do not tremble before them in fear. For, the King of the universe is One; He holds the key to all things, and the reins of all things. Everything is resolved by His command. If you have found Him, it means that you have obtained whatever you wish for; you have been liberated from an (otherwise) interminable indebtedness and innumerable fears.’

The third phrase: He has no partner

God is One in that He has no partner in His Lordship, in His acts and in His creating, nor in His Divinity or Sovereignty.

A worldly monarch may in theory have no partner in his sovereignty but, in the practical execution thereof, his officials act as his partners and/or as intermediaries between him and his people. Whereas, God, the Monarch of all times, has no need for partners or helpers in the execution of His Sovereignty, just as He has, in principle, no partner in His Sovereignty. Without His command and will, without His leave and power; not a single thing can interfere with another. Also, since He has no partner or helper, and there are no intermediaries between Him and His creatures, everyone can have recourse to Him directly at any time or place

This phrase, therefore, provides for the human spirit this glad tiding a man who has attained belief may, without hindrance, opposition or interference, in any state, for any desire, at any time and in any place, enter the presence of the Majestic, the All- Gracious, the All-Powerful One of perfection, who is the eternal Owner of the treasuries of mercy and bliss, and may present before Him his needs By seeking His Mercy and relying upon His Power, he can attain perfect ease and happiness.

The fourth phrase: His is the Kingdom

His is the Kingdom of all the heavens and the earth. So you are owned by Him and working in His Kingdom. This phrase implies the following joyful and healing news:

‘O man! Do not imagine that you own yourself for you are unable to administer even your own affairs You can neither maintain your spirit and body by providing for their needs and securing them against calamities, nor can you avoid exhaustion and ageing since you have no dominion over time or other agencies of decline. Therefore, do not suffer pain and torment without reason. Somebody else, not you, owns everything. That Owner is both All-Powerful and All-Compassionate; rely on His Power and do not accuse His Compassion. Renounce grief and anxiety, and accept relief. Be rid of your troubles and find serenity.’

The phrase also means: ‘This world that you love, to which you are connected, and which you see in disorder and are unable to put right, is the property of an All-Powerful and Compassionate One. So hand over the property to its Owner, leave it to Him, mind your own duty and do not interfere with His acts. Do not be troubled by what you are unable to overcome, and be at ease. The Owner of this property has free disposal of it and administers it as He wishes. But He is All-Wise, always acts for a wise purpose, and also He is All-Compassionate. So, whenever you take fright, say like Ibrahim Haqqi, “Let’s, see what the Master does; Whatever He does is always best,” and observe His acts with complete trust in Him.’

The fifth phrase: To Him belongs all the praise

Only God absolutely deserves praise and acclaim and only to Him is all indebtedness. His are all bounties and they come from His treasury. As for the treasury, it is infinite and inexhaustible. This phrase, therefore, implies this happy news:

‘O man! Do not be anxious that, one day, the bounties (you presently enjoy) will cease.

‘Know that the treasury of Mercy is inexhaustible. Nor cry out in anxiety over the possible cessation of enjoyment; every enjoyment you are granted is the fruit of an infinite Mercy Now the tree of that Mercy is undying, for each exhausted fruit is replaced with a new one. Furthermore, by reflecting on what you enjoy in an attitude of thanks and praise, since every enjoyment is in essence a favour from the Divine Mercy and, in so being a hundred times more enjoyable than the enjoyment by itself you will be able to increase it a hundredfold. If a glorious king presents you with an apple, the pleasure you take in being honoured by a royal favour will be superior to the material pleasure of a hundred, even a thousand, apples. Similarly, through the phrase ‘To Him belongs all praise’ will be opened to you the door of a spiritual enjoyment a thousand times sweeter than that you enjoy by itself, since this phrase makes you consider the bestowal of bounty, which in turn leads you to recognize the Bestower and to reflect on His merciful favours which are pouring out continually.’

The sixth phrase: He alone gives life

The One who gives life and sustains it through provision is He. Likewise, the Provider of life’s necessities is He, and the sublime aims of life and its important results are related to Him. This phrase therefore calls out to mortal and helpless man and gives him this joyful tiding:

‘O man! Do not bother to shoulder the heavy responsibilities of life; do not feel unease because the world is transient. Do not let the insignificant worldly fruits of life drive you to regret that you came to this world. Rather the ‘life mechanism’ in ‘the ship of your being’ belongs to the One Ever-Living and Ever-Self-Subsisting, so it is He who provides for all of life’s needs and expenditures. Further, there are innumerable aims in life directing it to many important results, nearly all of which are related to Him. You are just a ‘helmsman’ on that ‘ship’ of your being, so perform your duty properly. Obtain your wage and take the enjoyment that comes with doing so. Ponder how precious that ‘ship’ is and how valuable its benefits; and consider how generous and compassionate is the Owner of that ‘ship’. So, rejoice and give thanks, and grasp that, if you perform your duly righteously, all the results that life yields will, in one respect, be recorded as your good deeds to secure an immortal life for you in eternity.’

The seventh phrase: …and makes to die

He discharges you from the duty of life changes your abode from this transient world and releases you from the burden of service. That is, He takes you from a transient life to an eternal one. This phrase, therefore, says explicitly to mortal jinn and man:

‘Good news for you: death is not annihilation or going to non existence, nor is it eternal separation or a chance event without an author. Rather, it is being discharged form service by the Author who is All-Wise and All-Compassionate; it is a change of abode. It is being dispatched to ever-lasting happiness, to your true home. It is the door to union with the intermediate world, which is the place where you will meet with ninety-nine percent of your friends’

The eighth phrase: He is living and dies not

He is the One, Undying Object of Worship and Everlasting Beloved, who possesses a beauty, perfection and munificence wholly and utterly superior to the beauty, perfection and munificence to be observed in all creatures; who arouses love; a single manifestation of whose Beauty is sufficient to replace all other beloveds; who has an eternal life free from any trace of cessation or ephemerality and exempt from any flaw or defect. So, this phrase makes this joyful announcement to all conscious beings, including jinn and mankind, and to people of love:

‘Here is good tidings for you! There is an Eternal Beloved who will heal the wounds caused by countless separations from the ones to whom you give your heart. Since He exists and is undying, whatever may happen, do not worry about those others. Moreover; the beauty and good in them, the grace and perfection which cause you to love them, are but a passing through many veils, a dim, shadow- like manifestation of the Eternal Beauty of the Everlasting Beloved. Do not grieve, therefore, at their disappearance, for they are a kind of mirrors:through the changing of mirrors the reflection of that Beauty is renewed and becomes more radiant. When you find Him, you have found everything.’

The ninth phrase In His hand is all good

That is, He possesses all good and only He guides you to do good. Also, He records on your behalf any good, righteous deed that you do. Thus, this phrase announces to jinn and mankind this glad tiding:

O you helpless ones! When you move to the grave do not cry out in despair. “Alas! Everything we owned is destroyed and all our efforts have come to nought. We have departed that wide, beautiful world and entered this narrow grave.” Everything of yours is preserved: all your deeds were written down and every service you rendered was recorded. The All-Majestic, in whose hand is all good and who is able to do whatever is good, has summoned you in order to reward your service: He will keep you under the ground temporarily and then will bring you to His presence. How fortunate you are that you have completed your duty and service; your labour has ended, you are on the way to ease and mercy. Having gone through your period of toil, you are going to receive your wages.’

The All-Powerful One of Majesty, who preserves seeds and grains, which are the records of the activities and the deposit-boxes the services done in the last spring, and unfolds and publishes them the following spring in the most dazzling, abundant and benevolent manner, is undoubtedly preserving the results of your deeds also, in the same way, and will likewise reward your service in the most abundant manner.

The tenth phrase He is powerful over everything

That is, He is the One, Unique and Singular and He has power over everything. Nothing is difficult for Him. To create a whole spring is as easy for Him as to create a single flower and He creates Paradise with as much ease as He creates the spring. The countless creatures that He continually brings into existence every day, every year, every century, bear witness with innumerable tongues to His limitless power. Thus, this phrase, too, implies these glad tidings

‘O man! The service you offer and the worship you perform do not go for nothing. A world of reward, an abode of bliss, has been prepared for you. In place of this transitory world of yours, an everlasting Paradise is awaiting you. Have faith and confidence in the promise of the Majestic Creator whom you know and worship. It is inconceivable that He should break His promise. In no respect is there any deficiency at all in His power. Impotence can never interfere in His works. As He creates your small garden, He can also create Paradise for you. And He has created it and has promised it to you. Since He has promised, He shall certainly admit you to it.’

We plainly observe how every year on the earth He most speedily revives, yet with perfect order and ease, more than three hundred thousand species and groups of animals and plants. Such an All- Powerful One of Majesty is most certainly able to carry out His promise. Further, since He creates every year samples of Paradise, which He has promised through all His revealed books; since all His acts and functions are performed with truth and seriousness; and, as we witness in all His works, all perfections point to and testify to His infinite perfection, with no flaw or defect at all in Him, and since the breaking of a promise, lying, falsehood and deception are the ugliest of qualities, then most decidedly will that All-Powerful One of Majesty, that All-Wise One of Perfection, that All Compassionate One of Grace fulfil His promise: He will open the gate to eternal happiness and admit you, O people of faith, into Paradise, which was the original home of your forefather, Adam.

The eleventh phrase and unto Him is the return

Human beings are sent to this world of trial and examination with important duties and business and to do some particular services. After they have completed their duties, they will return and meet once more with their All-Munificent Master, the Majestic Creator; who sent them out in the first place. That is, they will leave this realm of transience, be delivered from the turbulent cycles of cause and effect and from the obscure veils of intermediaries, and will be honoured in the eternal abode in the presence of their Compassionate Lord and meet with Him without veil before His seat of everlasting kingdom. Everyone will find out directly who His Creator is, the Worshipped One, Lord, Master and Owner. Thus, this phrase implies the following news, much happier that all the rest:

‘O man! Do you know where you are going? Do you know to where you are being impelled? You are going to the sphere of Mercy, to the serene presence of the All-Beautiful One of Majesty. A thousand years of happy life in this world cannot be compared to one hour of life in Paradise, and a thousand years of life in Paradise cannot be compared to one hour’s vision of His Countenance of utmost beauty. The loveliness and beauty in all the creatures of this world, including those worldly loved ones by which you are so fascinated and stricken are merely a sort of shadow of a single manifestation of His Beauty and of the loveliness of His Names; and the whole of Paradise, with all its charm is merely a manifestation of His Mercy, and all longing, love and attraction are merely a gleam from the light of His Love. You are going into the presence of the One Eternally worshipped and Everlastingly Beloved, and are invited to Paradise, which is His eternal feasting place. Since this is so, enter the grave not with tears but with a smile.’

The same words also give this glad news:

‘O man! Do not be apprehensive, imagining that you are going to oblivion, extinction, non-existence, nothingness, decay and dissolution. You are going not to extinction but to permanence. You are being impelled not to non-existence, but to eternal existence. You are entering not the world of darkness but the world of His Light. You are returning to your true Owner, to the seat of the Eternal King.

You will not drown in multiplicity, but you will take your rest in the sphere of unity. You are bound not for separation, but for union.’

FROM THE RISALE-I NUR COLLECTION