The Letters (1-20) – From the Risale-i Nur Collection

The Letters (1-20)

by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

The First Letter

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionateبِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
And from Him do we seek helpوَ بِهِ نَسْتَعِينُ
The First LetterBirinci Mektub
In His Name, be He glorified!And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.*بِاسْمِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَاِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ اِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ
*{Bediuzzaman explained as follows his reasons for heading his letters with this verse (17:44): “This was the first door opened to me from the sacred treasuries of the All-Wise Qur’an. Of the divine truths of the Qur’an, it was the truth of this verse that first became clear to me and it is this truth that pervades most parts of the Risale-i Nur. Another reason is that the masters in whom I have confidence used it at the head of their letters.” (See, Barla Lahikası, 335.) (Tr.)}
[This consists of the brief answers to four questions.][Dört sualin muhtasar cevabıdır]
First QuestionBirinci Sual
Is Khidr alive? If he is alive, why do some leading religious scholars not accept it?Hazret-i Hızır Aleyhisselâm hayatta mıdır? Hayatta ise niçin bazı mühim ulema hayatını kabul etmiyorlar?
The Answer: He is alive, but there are five levels of life. He is at the second. It is because of this that some religious scholars have been doubtful about it.Elcevap: Hayattadır, fakat meratib-i hayat beştir. O, ikinci mertebededir. Bu sebebden bazı ulema hayatında şüphe etmişler.
The First Level of Life is that of our life, which is very restricted.Birinci Tabaka-i Hayat: Bizim hayatımızdır ki, çok kayıdlarla mukayyeddir.
The Second Level of Life is that of Khidr and Ilyas (May God grant them peace), which is free to an extent; that is to say, they can be present in numerous places at the same time.İkinci Tabaka-i Hayat: Hazret-i Hızır ve İlyas Aleyhimesselâm’ın hayatlarıdır ki, bir derece serbesttir. Yani bir vakitte pek çok yerlerde bulunabilirler.
They are not permanently restricted by the requirements of humanity like we are.Bizim gibi beşeriyet levazımatıyla daimî mukayyed değillerdir.
They can eat and drink like us when they want to, but are not compelled to like we are.Bazan istedikleri vakit bizim gibi yerler, içerler; fakat bizim gibi mecbur değillerdir.
Saints who attain to direct vision and knowledge of reality have reported virtually unanimously their adventures with Khidr and these elucidate and prove this level of life.Tevatür derecesinde ehl-i şuhud ve keşif olan evliyanın, Hazret-i Hızır ile maceraları, bu tabaka-i hayatı tenvir ve isbat eder.
One of the degrees of sainthood, even, is called the degree of Khidr. A saint who reaches it receives instruction from Khidr and meets with him.Hattâ makamat-ı velayette bir makam vardır ki, “Makam-ı Hızır” tabir edilir. O makama gelen bir veli, Hızır’dan ders alır ve Hızır ile görüşür.
But it sometimes happens that such a person is mistakenly thought to be Khidr himself.Fakat bazan o makam sahibi yanlış olarak, ayn-ı Hızır telakki olunur.
The Third Level of Life is that of Idris and Jesus (May God grant them peace), which is removed from the requirements of humanity, and is an angelic level of life and acquires a luminous fineness.Üçüncü Tabaka-i Hayat: Hazret-i İdris ve İsa Aleyhimesselâm’ın tabaka-i hayatlarıdır ki, beşeriyet levazımatından tecerrüd ile, melek hayatı gibi bir hayata girerek nuranî bir letafet kesbeder.
Quite simply, Idris and Jesus are present in the heavens with their earthly bodies, which have the subtlety of bodies from the World of Similitudes and the luminosity of astral bodies.Âdeta beden-i misalî letafetinde ve cesed-i necmî nuraniyetinde olan cism-i dünyevîleriyle semavatta bulunurlar.
There is a Hadith that states that at the end of time, Jesus (Upon whom be peace) will come and will act in accordance with the Shari’a of Muhammad (UWBP).Âhirzamanda Hazret-i İsa Aleyhisselâm gelecek, Şeriat-ı Muhammediye (A.S.M.) ile amel edecek mealindeki hadîsin sırrı şudur ki:
*{Bukhari, Mazalim 31; Buyu’ 102;Muslim, Iman 242, 343;Ibn Maja, Fitan 33.}
This indicates that at the end times the religion of Christianity will be purified and divest itself of superstition in the face of the current of unbelief and atheism born of naturalist philosophy, and will be transformed into Islam.Âhirzamanda felsefe-i tabiiyenin verdiği cereyan-ı küfrîye ve inkâr-ı ulûhiyete karşı İsevîlik dini tasaffi ederek ve hurafattan tecerrüd edip İslâmiyete inkılab edeceği bir sırada,
At that point, on the one hand the collective personality of Christianity will kill the fearsome collective personality of irreligion with the sword of heavenly revelation;Nasıl ki İsevîlik şahs-ı manevîsi, vahy-i semavî kılıncıyla o müdhiş dinsizliğin şahs-ı manevîsini öldürür;
and on the other, representing the collective personality of Christianity, Jesus (Upon whom be peace) will kill the Dajjal, who represents the collective personality of irreligion; that is, he will kill atheistic thought.öyle de Hazret-i İsa Aleyhisselâm, İsevîlik şahs-ı manevîsini temsil ederek, dinsizliğin şahs-ı manevîsini temsil eden Deccal’ı öldürür, yani inkâr-ı uluhiyet fikrini öldürecek.
The Fourth Level of Life is that of the martyrs. According to the Qur’an, the martyrs are at a level of life higher than that of the other dead in their graves.Dördüncü Tabaka-i Hayat: Şüheda hayatıdır. Nass-ı Kur’anla şühedanın, ehl-i kuburun fevkinde bir tabaka-i hayatları vardır.
Since they sacrificed their worldly lives in the way of truth, in His perfect munificence Almighty God bestows on them in the Intermediate Realm a life resembling earthly life, but without its sorrows and hardships.Evet şüheda, hayat-ı dünyevîlerini tarîk-ı hakta feda ettikleri için, Cenab-ı Hak kemal-i kereminden onlara hayat-ı dünyeviyeye benzer; fakat kedersiz, zahmetsiz bir hayatı Âlem-i Berzahta onlara ihsan eder.
They do not know themselves to be dead and suppose only that they have gone to a better world.Onlar kendilerini ölmüş bilmiyorlar.. yalnız kendilerinin daha iyi bir âleme gittiklerini biliyorlar..
Enjoying themselves in perfect happiness, they do not suffer the pains of separation that accompany death. {3. See, Tirmidhi, Jihad, 6; Nasa’i, Jihad, 35; Ibn Maja , Jihad, 16; Darimi, Jihad, 7.}kemal-i saadetle mütelezziz oluyorlar.. ölümdeki firak acılığını hissetmiyorlar.
For sure the spirits of the dead are immortal, but they know they are dead.Ehl-i kuburun çendan ruhları bâkidir, fakat kendilerini ölmüş biliyorlar.
The happiness and pleasure they experience in the Intermediate World are not equal to the martyrs’ happiness.Berzahta aldıkları lezzet ve saadet, şühedanın lezzetine yetişmez.
Like if two men in their dreams enter a beautiful palace resembling Paradise: one knows that he is dreaming and the pleasure and enjoyment he receives are deficient.Nasıl ki iki adam bir rü’yada Cennet gibi bir güzel saraya girerler. Birisi rü’yada olduğunu bilir. Aldığı keyf ve lezzet pek noksandır.
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