| The First Flash | Birinci Lem’a |
| The supplication of Yunus ibn Matta (2) (Peace be upon our Prophet and upon him) is a most powerful supplication, a most effective means for obtaining answer to prayer. (3) | Hazret-i Yunus İbn-i Metta Alâ Nebiyyina ve Aleyhissalâtü Vesselâm’ın münacatı, en azîm bir münacattır ve en mühim bir vesile-i icabe-i duadır. |
| 2 The Prophet Yunus in the Qur’an is the Biblical Jonah, which name is henceforth used in the present work. (Tr.)3 Tirmidhi, Da‘wat, 81; Musnad, i, 170. | |
| The gist of the celebrated story of Jonah (Peace be upon him) is as follows: | Hazret-i Yunus Aleyhisselâm’ın kıssa-i meşhuresinin hülâsası: |
| He was cast into the sea and swallowed by a large fish. | Denize atılmış, büyük bir balık onu yutmuş. |
| The sea was stormy, the night turbulent and dark, and hope exhausted. But it was while he was in such a situation that his supplication: There is no god other than You, Glory be unto You! Indeed, I was among the wrongdoers (21:87) acted for him as a swift means of salvation. | Deniz fırtınalı ve gece dağdağalı ve karanlık ve her taraftan ümid kesik bir vaziyette لاَ اِلَهَ اِلاَّ اَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ اِنِّى كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ münacatı, ona sür’aten vasıta-i necat olmuştur. |
| The secret of his supplication’s power was this: | Şu münacatın sırr-ı azîmi şudur ki: |
| In that situation all causes were suspended, | O vaziyette esbab bilkülliye sukut etti. |
| for Jonah needed to save him one whose command should constrain the whale and the sea, and the night and the sky. | Çünki o halde ona necat verecek öyle bir zât lâzım ki; hükmü hem balığa, hem denize, hem geceye, hem cevv-i semaya geçebilsin. |
| The night, the sea, and the whale were united against him. | Çünki onun aleyhinde “gece, deniz ve hut” ittifak etmişler. |
| Only one whose command might subdue all three of these could bring him forth on the strand of salvation. | Bu üçünü birden emrine müsahhar eden bir zât onu sahil-i selâmete çıkarabilir. |
| Even if the entirety of creation had become his servants and helpers, it would have been of no avail. | Eğer bütün halk onun hizmetkârı ve yardımcısı olsa idiler, yine beş para faideleri olmazdı. |
| For causes have no effect. | Demek esbabın tesiri yok. |
| Since Jonah saw with the eye of certainty that there was no refuge other than the Causer of Causes, | Müsebbib-ül Esbab’dan başka bir melce’ olamadığını aynelyakîn gördüğünden, |
| and unfolded to him was the meaning of divine oneness within the light of divine unity, his supplication was able suddenly to subdue the night, the sea, and the whale. | sırr-ı ehadiyet, nur-u tevhid içinde inkişaf ettiği için şu münacat birdenbire geceyi, denizi ve hutu müsahhar etmiştir. |
| Through the light of divine unity he was able to transform the belly of the whale into a submarine; | O nur-u tevhid ile hutun karnını bir taht-el bahir gemisi hükmüne getirip |
| and the surging sea, which in its awesomeness resembled an erupting volcano, into a peaceable plain, a pleasant place of excursion. | ve zelzeleli dağ-vari emvac dehşeti içinde; denizi, o nur-u tevhid ile emniyetli bir sahra, bir meydan-ı cevelan ve tenezzühgâhı olarak |
| Through the light of unity, he was able to sweep the sky’s countenance clear of allclouds, and to set the moon over his head like a lantern. | o nur ile sema yüzünü bulutlardan süpürüp, Kamer’i bir lâmba gibi başı üstünde bulundurdu. |
| Creation that had been pressing and threatening him from all sides now showed him a friendly face from every direction. | Her taraftan onu tehdid ve tazyik eden o mahlukat, her cihette ona dostluk yüzünü gösterdiler. |
| Thus he reached the shore of salvation, where beneath the creeping- gourd tree he observed this favour of his Lord. | Tâ sahil-i selâmete çıktı, şecere-i yaktîn altında o lütf-u Rabbanîyi müşahede etti. |
| Now we are in a situation one hundred times more awesome than that in which Jonah (Peace be upon him) first found himself. | İşte Hazret-i Yunus Aleyhisselâm’ın birinci vaziyetinden yüz derece daha müdhiş bir vaziyetteyiz. |
| Our night is the future. | Gecemiz, istikbaldir. |
| When we look upon our future with the eye of neglect, it is a hundred times darker and more fearful than his night. | İstikbalimiz, nazar-ı gafletle onun gecesinden yüz derece daha karanlık ve dehşetlidir. |
| Our sea is this spinning globe. | Denizimiz, şu sergerdan küre-i zeminimizdir. |
| Each wave of this sea bears on it thousands of corpses, and is thus a thousand times more frightening than his sea. | Bu denizin her mevcinde binler cenaze bulunuyor; onun denizinden bin derece daha korkuludur. |
| Our fish is the caprice of our soul which strives to shake and destroy the foundation of our eternal life. | Bizim heva-yı nefsimiz, hutumuzdur; hayat-ı ebediyemizi sıkıp mahvına çalışıyor. |
| This fish is a thousand times more maleficent than his. | Bu hut, onun hutundan bin derece daha muzırdır. |
| For his fish could destroy a hundred-year lifespan, | Çünki onun hutu yüz senelik bir hayatı mahveder. |
| whereas ours seeks to destroy a life lasting hundreds of millions of years. | Bizim hutumuz ise, yüz milyon seneler hayatın mahvına çalışıyor. |
| This being our true state, | Madem hakikî vaziyetimiz budur; |
| we should in imitation of Jonah (Peace be upon him) avert ourselves from all causes | biz de Hazret-i Yunus Aleyhisselâm’a iktidaen, umum esbabdan yüzümüzü çevirip |
| and take refuge directly in the Causer of Causes, that is, our Lord and Sustainer. | doğrudan doğruya Müsebbib-ül Esbab olan Rabbimize iltica edip |
| We should say: “There is no god but You, Glory be unto You! Indeed I was among the wrongdoers,” | لاَ اِلَهَ اِلاَّ اَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ اِنِّى كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَdemeliyiz |
| and understand with full certainty | ve aynelyakîn anlamalıyız ki; |
| that it is only He who can repel from us the harm of the future, this world, and caprice of our souls, united against us because of our neglect and misguidance. | gaflet ve dalaletimiz sebebiyle aleyhimize ittifak eden istikbal, dünya ve heva-yı nefsin zararlarını def’edecek yalnız o zât olabilir ki; |
| For the future is subject to His command, the world to His jurisdiction, and our soul to His direction. | istikbal taht-ı emrinde, dünya taht-ı hükmünde, nefsimiz taht-ı idaresindedir. |
| What cause is there other than the Creator of the heavens and earth | Acaba Hâlık-ı Semavat ve Arz’dan başka hangi sebeb var ki, |
| who can know the most subtle and secret thoughts of our heart; | en ince ve en gizli hatırat-ı kalbimizi bilecek |
| who can lighten the future for us by establishing the hereafter; | ve bizim için istikbali, âhiretin icadıyla ışıklandıracak |
| who can save us from the myriad overwhelming waves of the world? | ve dünyanın yüzbin boğucu emvacından kurtaracak, |
| No, outside that Necessarily Existent One, | hâşâ, Zât-ı Vâcib-ül Vücud’dan başka |
| there is nothing that can in any way give aid and effect salvation except by His consent and command. | hiçbir şey, hiçbir cihette onun izni ve iradesi olmadan imdad edemez ve halaskâr olamaz. |
| This being the case, considering that as a result of his supplication, the whale became for Jonah a vehicle, | Madem hakikat-ı hal böyledir. Nasılki Hazret-i Yunus Aleyhisselâm’a o münacatın neticesinde hutu ona bir merkûb, |
| or a submarine, and the sea, a peaceable plain; and the night became gently lit for him by the moon, | bir taht-el bahir ve denizi bir güzel sahra ve gece mehtablı bir latif suret aldı. |
| so too, we should make the same supplication: “There is no god but You, Glory be unto You! Indeed I was among the wrongdoers.” | Biz dahi o münacatın sırrıylaلاَ اِلَهَ اِلاَّ اَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ اِنِّى كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَdemeliyiz. |
| With the sentence “There is no god but You” we draw the gaze of mercy upon our future; | لاَ اِلَهَ اِلاَّ اَنْتَ cümlesiyle istikbalimize, |
| with the word “Glory be unto You!” we draw it upon our world; | سُبْحَانَكَ kelimesiyle dünyamıza, |
| and with the phrase “Indeed I was among the wrongdoers,” we draw it upon our soul. | اِنِّى كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ fıkrasıyla nefsimize nazar-ı merhametini celbetmeliyiz. |
| See, Bukhari, Adhan, 149; Tawhid, 9; Muslim, Dhikr, 47-8; Hudud, 23 | |
| Thus our future is illumined with the light of belief and the moonlike luminosity of the Qur’an, | Tâ ki, nur-u iman ile ve Kur’anın mehtabıyla istikbalimiz tenevvür etsin ve |
| and the awe and terror of the nightare transformed into tranquillity and joy. | o gecemizin dehşet ve vahşeti, ünsiyet ve tenezzühe inkılab etsin. |
| Then too, embarking on the ship of the truth of Islam, fashioned in the dockyard of the Most Wise Qur’an, we may pass safely over the sea of this earthly abode, which through the alternation of life and death is boarded by corpses unnumbered, borne on the waves of the years and centuries, and cast into nothingness. | Ve mütemadiyen mevt ve hayatın değişmesiyle seneler ve karnlar emvacı üstünde hadsiz cenazeler binip ademe atılan dünyamız ve zeminimizde, Kur’an-ı Hakîm’in tezgâhında yapılan bir sefine-i maneviye hükmüne geçen hakikat-ı İslâmiyet içine girip selâmetle o denizin üstünde gezip, |
| Once aboard that ship we may reach the shore of salvation and fulfil our life’s duty. | tâ sahil-i selâmete çıkarak hayatımızın vazifesi bitsin. |
| The tempest and surging of the sea will appear a series of pleasing images on a screen, | O denizin fırtınaları ve zelzeleleri, sinema perdeleri gibi tenezzühün manzaralarını tazelendirmekle, |
| and instead of inspiring terror and dread,will delight, caress and illumine the reflective and the meditative gaze. | vahşet ve dehşet yerine, nazar-ı ibret ve tefekkürü keyiflendirerek okşayıp ışıklandırsın. |
| By virtue of the mystery of the Qur’an, and the effect of that Criterion of Truth and Falsehood, our soul will no longer ride us, | Hem o sırr-ı Kur’anla, o terbiye-i Furkaniye ile; nefsimiz bize binmeyecek, |
| but instead become our mount. As we ride it, it will be for us a powerful means for the attainment of life everlasting. | merkûbumuz olup, bizi ona bindirip, hayat-ı ebediyemizin kazanmasına kuvvetli bir vasıtamız olsun. |
| In Short: Man, in accordance with the comprehensive nature of his being, as he suffers and shakes with malaria, | Elhasıl: Madem insan, mahiyetinin câmiiyeti itibariyle sıtmadan müteellim olduğu gibi, |
| so also he suffers from the shaking and tremors of the earth, and the supreme convulsion of all beings on the Day of Resurrection. | arzın zelzele ve ihtizazatından ve kâinatın kıyamet hengâmında zelzele-i kübrasından müteellim oluyor. |
| As he fears the infinitesimal microbe, he also fears the shooting star that appears among the heavenly bodies. | Ve nasılki hurdebinî bir mikrobdan korkar; ecram-ı ulviyeden zuhur eden kuyruklu yıldızdan dahi korkar. |
| As he loves his home, he also loves the wide world. | Hem nasılki hanesini sever, koca dünyayı da öyle sever. |
| As he loves his little garden, he also ardently loves infinite and eternal paradise. | Hem nasılki küçük bahçesini sever, öyle de hadsiz ebedî Cennet’i dahi müştakane sever. |
| Man’s object of worship, Lord, refuge, saviour, and goal then can only be the One in the grasp of whose power is the whole universe, under whose command are both atom and planet. | Elbette böyle bir insanın Mabudu, Rabbi, melcei, halaskârı, maksudu öyle bir zât olabilir ki, umum kâinat onun kabza-i tasarrufunda, zerrat ve seyyarat dahi taht-ı emrindedir. |
| Man should therefore constantly say like Jonah (Peace be upon him): There is no god but You, Glory be unto You! Indeed I was among the wrongdoers. | Elbette öyle bir insan daima Yunusvari (A.S.)لاَ اِلَهَ اِلاَّ اَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ اِنِّى كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَdemeye muhtaçtr. |
