Bediuzzaman Said Nursi's Scriptural
Approach to the Problem of Evil
Yamine Mermer
Indiana University
Introduction: Nursi and His Times
Evil is a reality that confronts us every day. It is part of the
human world. Its devastating consequences are especially evident
in our time. Today more than ever before, there is great need of
gaining deeper insights into the mystery of evil, precisely as it
emerges from the exercise of human freedom.
The central concern of the present work is to attempt to show how
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi's magnum opus, the Risale-I Nur
(The Epistle of Light), which is a sort of commentary on the Qur'anic
Scripture, contributes to overcoming evil (sharr). Although
Nursi has no systematic 'theodicy',1 he has written extensively on
the question of evil in different contexts. It is important to mention
that his writings were not the result of a merely intellectual enterprise,
but rather the living answers to problems he has personally experienced.
In order to understand the secret of the liveliness and influence
of his works it is necessary to know in which circumstances they
were written. One year after the abolishment of the Caliphate in
Turkey, Said Nursi was arrested among many other 'ulema
and notables in Eastern Anatolia, a large number of whom were executed,
and sent alone into exile in a remote village in Western Turkey.
He was harassed by the authorities and compelled to remain in a
tortuous exile, elderly and ill. He was arrested and tried many
times for having written on religion, and was kept in solitary confinement
in prison. Those who read his writings were also ill-treated and
imprisoned for no crime. This continued and unfounded injustice
pained Nursi greatly but it also taught him a lot. He could clearly
perceive how unbelief can transform men into cruel tyrants. He had
ample opportunity to reflect on the nature of denial and rebellion
and their evil consequences, of which he was himself the victim.
In contrast, he recognized as an infinite mercy revelation and belief
in Divine Unity (tawhid).
Through the insight of Divine Unity, he realized that nothing occurs
on its own haphazardly. Everything is directly under the control
of his Merciful Lord. He saw the reality of the seemingly harsh
and hostile conditions in which he found himself. He was made to
realize his boundless weakness and his absolute need to seek refuge
with his Omnipotent and Merciful Sustainer. This way, he was being
instructed and prepared for everlasting life. As the prophet Jonah
(peace be upon him) transformed the belly of the whale into a submarine2
through the mystery of Divine Unity, Nursi was able to transform
the prison into a 'School of Joseph' (Medrese-i Yusufiye).3
He was able to overcome his affliction and dwell in the presence
of his Compassionate Lord, thus transcending his profound sense
of loneliness and alienation. He found perfect joy and solace in
trusting in God. He witnessed with his life that "she/he who
has found Him has found everything, but she/he who has lost Him
finds nothing but affliction."4 His life in those very painful
circumstances was extremely fruitful. He wrote the Risale-i
Nur, which was distributed and read by thousands of people.
Nursi saved their eternal lives. He taught them how to defeat evil
and attain to happiness and peace under all circumstances.
Nursi wrote his feelings. His solutions to the question of evil
and suffering are the fruits of his deep grappling with the human
situation in confronting evil with the help of revelation and belief
in Divine Unity. Nursi's writings do not address only those who
already possess faith. From one point of view, they are an account
of the human condition. They combine emotion and argument, and that
gives them liveliness and strength. They are more than simply a
'theodicy'. They are the outcome of Nursi's life experience. That
is why the reader can find himself, his most hidden feelings, reflected
in his writings.
The purpose of this study is to understand Nursi's original and
lively scriptural approach to the problematic of evil and how he
exposes the continuing threat of evil to meaning, purpose, and happiness
in an otherwise intelligible world. For this, it is necessary to
situate his work within the context of Divine Unity, which constitutes
the background of Nursi's entire system of thought.
"His is all Dominion"5
In Islamic Scripture the existence of God is not based only on
a priori proofs. The Qur'an presents the universe as evidence
for Divine Unity. All beings are signs pointing to the necessary
existence of God and are like mirrors reflecting their Maker's attributes
of perfection and thus making Him known. Therefore, it is not easy
to argue from evil to the non-existence of God. The problem of evil
does not assume the dominant position in Islamic tradition which
it often occupies in Western thought. Theodicy in Islam is more
concerned with a consistent conception of the Divine qualities.
Divine mercy, justice, power and will are at stake.
Nursi was aware that only a correct understanding of being and
how it is related to the Divine attributes of perfection can solve
the question of evil. This, in turn, is incumbent on solving the
mystery of Divine Unity (tawhid), which consists in witnessing
that all perfections in the universe belong exclusively to the Maker
of every thing. That is why Nursi discusses the subject extensively.
He also warns his reader that intuitive acceptance of the existence
of God is only the first step towards real tawhid. The
next step is to find in every thing and event a way leading to knowledge
of God with His Names and attributes of perfection, and eventually
to love of God. Thus through true tawhid, man attains a
constant awareness of God's presence.6 For God in the
Qur'an is not confined to the 'heavens'; "He is God in
heaven and God on earth" (43:84), and He is "nearer
to him (i.e. to human being) than his own jugular vein"
(50:16). Moreover, the Qur'an describes all beings and phenomena
as signs glorifying their Maker7 so that "wherever
you turn, there is God's countenance" (2:115). That is,
God in the Qur'anic scripture is both transcendent and immanent.
Those who accept the existence of God but have only a superficial
or even no knowledge of His attributes of perfection as they are
manifested in this world find it difficult to reconcile what appears
to them as pointless evil with the goodness of God.
"He is Powerful over all Things"8
In all his major works, Nursi emphasizes the comprehensiveness
of Divine power. He notes that nothing exists on its own independently
of the whole universe. All things are so interwoven that no single
thing or event can exist on its own without the whole cosmos. Hence,
only one who can control the whole cosmos can have disposal over
any of its parts, however small it is. Nursi asserts that in the
universe countless events occur in countless places all at the same
time, without any intermediary. It is clear that these events, these
creative acts, proceed from a universal law of creativity that encompasses
all those events. Thus, whoever performs one creative act must be
the author of all the creative acts which are tied to that law of
creativity.9
By observing this activity of power in the universe, Nursi establishes
that the greatest universal is as easy as the smallest particular
in relation to the Divine power that is the source of those acts.10
Hence, everything comes into being through God's power. It is created
together with its attributes and properties. Moreover, everything
is intrinsically weak. For its continued existence, it is in need
in every instant of its Self-Subsistent Creator's preserving it.11
For instance, usually the different states of being of a person
are described as events in the life of that person. If she is ill,
it is said that illness has befallen her, but otherwise she is well,
as though her being were independent of her illness and inherently
healthy. As a matter of fact, she is as her Creator creates her.
Nursi expresses this fact as "the Lord of Dominion has disposal
over His dominion."12 He explains this phrase as meaning that
whatever exists, it is the Lord's dominion, because it relies on
His disposal for its existence and permanence.
"God Does Whatever He Wills"13
In his works, Nursi frequently points to the experiential evidence
of the Creator's universal will. Within innumerable possibilities,
a specific well-ordered
individuality is given to every thing, especially to animate beings,
thus demonstrating a universal will. Moreover, the different attributes
and states which a being assumes throughout its life are also purposefully
and knowingly specified. This means that it is impelled on a wise
way amid innumerable possible ways through the will of One Who specifies
and chooses, and through the creation of a Wise Maker.
His Mercy Encompasses Everything
The most recurrent divine attribute in the Qur'an is mercy.14
The Qur'an says that "your Sustainer has willed upon Himself
the law of grace and mercy" (6:54).This expression also
occurs in verse 6:12 and in both instances it refers to God's mercy
and compassion (rahma). None of the other divine attributes
has been similarly described. This exceptional quality of God's
mercy is further stressed in verse 7:156: "My grace and
mercy overspread everything." Following the scriptures,
Nursi emphasizes the theme of mercy in his writings. He explains
how Divine mercy shows itself in the harmonious ordering of the
cosmos which caters to the needs of all beings and especially man.
So many species of living beings come into existence and enter the
life of this world, and all of them, particularly the newly arrived,
are nurtured with utmost order and regularity. They are clothed
in different practicable forms in accordance to wisdom and decked
out with all sorts of senses and faculties with a view to assuring
various uses and benefits. Also, they have been inspired as to how
to procure their needs. All this demonstrates that their compassionate
Maker sees them, knows them, and hears them.15 His mercy and wisdom
are so comprehensive; they compassionately preserve even the rights
of life of a fly.16 The smallest need of the lowliest creature is
thus fulfilled in the most solicitous and unexpected manner.17
Moreover, the Merciful Creator bestows on men every sort of delicious
and ornate gift from unexpected places18 in order to please them and
make them friends of Himself.19 They have been endowed with innumerable
appetites, needs, feelings and senses in order that they may profit
and derive pleasure from those innumerable gifts of Divine mercy.
Indeed, in the context of Divine Unity, even a tiny fruit is understood
as a product of universal mercy and divine generosity, its creation
accomplishable only by a Being Who causes the earth to revolve,
who causes the seasons, and thus brings the fruits of the seasons
within reach of those needy guests of the earth who stand waiting
for them.20
Also, for example, when the particular act of sending pure milk
to the assistance of a powerless infant is viewed in relation to
the sustaining of all infants, a universal law of mercy is seen
in its entire splendor. If this law is not perceived, each particular
providing of sustenance will be attributed to causes, chance and
nature, and become meaningless and without value. The mercy and
beauty mirrored in those acts becomes hidden,21 although it is clear
that these acts require infinite mercy, care, wisdom, knowledge,
power and will, and hence cannot be the work of unconscious causes
and blind chance.22
Thus, from the perspective of Divine Unity, the order in the universe
is the manifestation of the Compassionate Creator's practices. These
practices are witnessed in the form of laws, such as the law of
mercy, the law of power, the law of justice, the law of beauty.
These laws are the manifestation of God's will and command.23 Nothing
in the Universe happens haphazardly or without purpose. God Himself
directs everything and listens to the plaints of all things, for
He is their Maker, Owner, and Protector. The doors of supplication
and seeking help and mercy are therefore always open.24
Being is Pure Good
According to Nursi, being is pure good whereas non-being is pure
evil.25 This notion of
evil as the privation of good (privatio boni) is widespread.
It is the preferred explanation for evil in Islamic thought, as
well as in Western Scholasticism. However, Nursi does not treat
this question in isolation, but views it against the background
of Divine Unity (tawhid). For him, it is the right conception
of being within the context of tawhid that helps us have
an insight into the mystery of evil.
Beings are the Mirrors of the Divine Attributes of Perfection
In Nursi's view, things and events are not the source of the perfections
they display. They are only mirrors of those perfections. Things
change and die, but their realities don't. Beautiful beings come
into being then depart. Yet an undying beauty displays itself in
those mirror-like beings, demonstrating that it does not belong
to the creatures themselves but to their Creator. Certainly,
just as light comes from something luminous, so the bestowal of
beauty comes from the beautiful. Consequently, it can be understood
that all the beauty and perfections in beings proceed from the beauty
and perfection of the meanings and realities of the divine attributes
of perfection which they reflect.26
Thus, by their very contingency, beings point to the meaning of
"God, there is no deity save Him. His (alone) are the Most
Beautiful Names" (20:8).27
In order to appreciate more fully Nursi's conception of being,
it is important to note that according to him things have two aspects:
the apparent and physical aspect (mulk), and the inner
aspect (malakut), which reflects the meanings of the Divine
Names.28 The mulk
aspect of things is full of pain because it is transient and mortal.
But this pain is not bad. It is like the dark side of the mirror;
it reflects the divine attributes of perfection. It makes one realize
that the beauty and perfection in beings, which are the cause of
love, do not belong to beings themselves but to the Divine Attributes.
This way, it turns the gaze from the apparent aspect to the inner
aspect, which looks to the Eternally Enduring One.29
Hence, the pain of separation resulting from transience is good
because it directs man's heart to the eternal source of all perfections.
But, if man refuses to turn his heart towards the Enduring One,
then he will see only the transient aspect of things, and will be
bound to suffer constantly the pain of separation from his objects
of love.
Death and annihilation cannot intrude the inner aspect of things,
for this looks to the meanings of the eternal Divine Names. From
this aspect, things and events bear witness to the Maker's absolute
power, mercy and bestowal, and to His love and care for all creatures,
especially human beings. The one who is perspicacious does not grieve
at the passing of things. She is aware that the qualities they reflect
are not lost in their departure. They continue to be reflected in
other beings. She enjoys the delight of witnessing the manifestations
of God's everlasting Beautiful Names. She realizes that this pleasure
is a prelude to God's eternal mercy, and that this world is "the
waiting-room for Paradise."30
In elucidating the meaning of the verse, "Who makes most
excellent everything that He creates" (32:7), Nursi asserts
that the inner aspect of all things is good and beautiful. Even
the most undesirable things and events are good in regard to their
results. In reality, apparent harms, tribulations and calamities
are not misfortunes. They are not evil and bad. They are created
for many beneficial and everlasting results. They are created on
purpose. For the sensible, they are means of purification and spiritual
progress, or atonement for sin, or else warnings and favors of the
Merciful Lord to prevent man from falling into dissipation, remind
him of his human helplessness, and thus prepare him for the eternal
life.31 They compel him
to ask questions that are essential in discovering the meaning of
existence and establish his ontological security on solid grounds.
But because man is self-centered, he considers only the outer aspect
of things. He evaluates and understands everything from his narrow
and selfish perspective, and therefore judges all that does not
serve his purpose to be bad and evil.32
In fact, if considered from their outer aspect only, even sheer
beauty and good are evil because they are mortal.33
Hence, it is clear that evil results from forgetting the Creator,
then imagining the world to be the playground of deaf Nature and
blind force, and a place of mourning. This terrifying vision of
the world makes man suffer a hell-like state of mind. But he alone
is responsible for the evil of his condition. Surely, he has no
right to accuse God of the evil consequences of his banishing God
from his world. Usually, impelled by heedlessness or misguidance,
man claims the ownership of himself and his acts. But, his responsibility
and faults he refers to God. For Nursi, this is clearly a trick
of the ego which man uses to shun the responsibility of the evil
of his choice.34
Perfections Pertain to the Divine Names. What about Imperfections?
The so-called privative theory of evil states that evil is actually
an absence of the good. Just as being and the good are convertible,
so too are non-being and evil. Evil as such is not a 'something',
but a deficiency, in varying degrees, of perfection. Thus privation
implies imperfection. It is further purported that knowledge is
acquired through opposites; the good is appreciated by comparison
with the bad, or less good. But beyond this, Nursi holds that the
existence of the imperfect is requisite for the unfolding of the
endless degrees of perfection. Nursi's view provides a realistic
approach to the mystery of evil that is able to withstand the touch
of experience.
Nursi describes evil, imperfections and ugliness as a unit of measurement
that shows the degrees of good and beauty and hence augments and
multiplies their realities. Evil is therefore indirectly good. Moreover,
the nonexistence of ugliness, which conceals numerous instances
of beauty, is not a single but a manifold ugliness. For then, beauty
would be of only one sort; its numerous degrees would remain hidden.
Beauty and perfection belong to the Creator alone, and hence they
are one. However, in creation the degrees of beauty and perfection
unfold through the intervention in them of ugliness and imperfection,
just as high and low degrees of heat proceed from the admixture
of coldness. Minor instances of imperfection, ugliness, and harm
result in or show up universal instances of perfection and beauty,
and universal benefits. This means that the creation of evils, imperfections
and ugliness is not evil because its consequences are good. But
Nursi also notes that due to his ill choice, man can receive harm
from 'evil'.35
Nursi explains that man has two aspects. One looks to good and
existence. From this aspect man can only receive Divine favor and
accept what is given. The other aspect looks to evil and non-existence.
From this aspect man is active. He has the ability to commit evil
and destruction.36 When
man does not consent to surrender to his Creator, he fancies that
he must take his life into his own hands. Then begins the desperate
effort to create his own delusive dominion, at the price of crime
and destruction. Man's misfortune begins when he aspires to deify
himself like Pharaoh, for his is only the power to destroy. As the
Qur'an teaches, "all that take Satan rather than God for
their master do indeed, most clearly, lose all: he holds out promises
to them, and fills them with vain desires; yet whatever Satan promises
them is but means to delude the mind." (4:119-120). According
to the teachings of the Qur'an, Satan has no power to create. Satan
can only delude those who "take them for masters"
(7:30), for "Satan's guile is indeed weak" (4:76).
Thus the Qur'an infers that 'evil' has no intrinsic reality; it
becomes real only through man's willfully choosing a wrong course
of action or attitude. It is a result of man's succumbing to the
temptations arising from his own moral weakness and thereby denying
the signs of mercy in the creation, including his own creation.37
"Satan has no power over those who place their trust in
God" (17:65) and "he cannot harm them in the
least, unless it be by God's leave: in God, then, let the believers
place their trust!" (58:10). The believer is enjoined
to seek refuge with God, "and if it should happen that
a prompting from Satan stirs you, seek refuge in God: behold, He
is all-hearing, all-knowing" (7:200; 41:36).
Complying with this injunction, the prophet Job (peace be upon
him) "cried to his Sustainer, 'Behold, Satan has afflicted
me with weariness and suffering!'"(38: 41). Job (peace
be upon him) knew that his creator was 'the most merciful of
the merciful' (21: 83), and his voucher was that his creator
had made him long for health and dislike illness and suffering.
These feelings were not his; they were witnesses to God's mercy.
For, had God not desired to give health and happiness, He would
not have given the want and need for them. But when the suffering
grew 'unbearable', Job (peace be upon him) sought refuge in God's
mercy from Satan, who was trying to delude him and make him question
God's mercy. He sought cure from this in order to be able to worship
again, whilst Satan's whisperings were preventing him from witnessing
to Divine mercy. For he knew that real despondency and weariness
of life lie in being unable to see Divine mercy. The way Job's prayer
was accepted is also most interesting. He was asked, "Strike
(the ground) with your foot: here is cool water to wash and to drink!"
(38: 42). This verse teaches us how to have recourse to worldly
causes as prayer for health.
We thus understand that Job (peace be upon him) was the champion
of patience, as Nursi calls him, because he was aware that illness,
the dislike for it, the love for well being and good, the recourse
to treatment and worldly causes in seeking health, as well as health
itself, are all meaningful pointers toward Divine mercy and wisdom;
they are all witnesses to Divine mercy. Such awareness is patience;
it is worship.
Moreover, the evil of wrongdoing, which is the result of a misperception
of the signs in the creation, affects none other than its perpetrator.
As Nursi affirms, "the acquisition of evil is evil, but the
creation of 'evil' is not evil."38 Nursi recalls that crimes
and evil acts have also two aspects: One looks to man, the other
to the Creator. Man is the cause of the 'evil' act. He requests
and acquires it, so he is responsible. But the one who creates the
'evil' act is God. However, the creation 'evil' is not evil, for
it has other good results. In the same event, man does wrong, but,
as the order and balance in the universe testify, the Creator is
All-Just and All-Wise, He acts in justice.39
In this way, Nursi salvages the reality of evil without, however,
designating it as some existing thing. Nothing is evil in itself
but it can be seen as evil. All evil is ultimately moral; it is
the outcome of a failure to see the mercy and wisdom in creation.
So illness, for instance, is the lack, in greater or lesser degree,
of the good that is health. But the physical suffering that accompanies
it is real. It is given to the ill person to urge her to seek health.
Suffering is a sign that makes one realize that illness is unwanted.
But if one appropriates one's need for health and dislike of
suffering to oneself, one will not see them as signs of mercy from
one's Creator. Instead, one will use them to accuse Him. But had
one not been created with those senses, how could one know that
suffering is bad? Moreover, illness makes one realize that
health is not inherent to one. It is a gift. It beckons one to turn
towards one's Creator, Who is the giver of health, and to invoke
Him for help. Illness also causes one to experience the different
sorts of pleasures and perfections contained in health. And more
importantly, it makes one realize that the reality and beauty of
health pertain to the Eternal Divine Name Healer. If one spends
one's whole life in a state of good health without ever understanding
its reality, one will remain heedless of one's Merciful Sustainer.
Health will afford one no pleasure because it is transient and fleeting.
On the contrary, the thought of separation will cause distress to
one's spirit, which yearns for immortality. Thanks to illness,
one can find the Eternal Healer, and that is for the human spirit
a source of great and enduring pleasure. Thus, the inner aspect
of illness is good. It deserves thanks, not complaint.
In short, beneficial matters like good health, well-being and pleasures
prompt one to see the manifestations of the Divine Names therein
and thank one's Eternal Lord. Similarly, by means of misfortunes,
illness, and pain, the weakness and poverty inherent in human beings
are made to work, dispelling all heedlessness, and making them experience
and taste the manifestations of many divine Names like Helper, Merciful,
Compassionate, Healer, All-Hearing.40 That is, illness and suffering,
like health, are a window onto the eternal perfections of the most
Beautiful Names. To abandon this enduring good for a minor evil
like the transient and fleeting pain it entails,41 would be a great
evil.42
Death is not Non-Existence
Nursi recounts how on thinking of death and the pains of transience,
his innate desire for immortality surged up and rebelled.
One time when observing the season of spring, I saw the successive
caravans of beings which... appeared only briefly then disappeared.
The tableaux of death and transience amid that constant, awesome
activity seemed to me excessively sad; I felt such pity it made
me weep... Life which met with such an end seemed to me to be
torment worse than death. ... My heart wanted to weep and complain
and cry out at fate. It asked awesome questions...
As I started to utter fearful objections about Divine determining
(qadar) and the grievous circumstances of the outer face
of life and its events, the light of the Qur'an, ... and belief
in Divine Unity came to my assistance. They lit up those darknesses,
and transformed my laments into joy... 43
Through the mystery of Divine Unity, Nursi understood that activity
arises from pleasure and yields pleasure, e.g. the unfolding of
abilities. It may be said that activity is pure pleasure. Or rather,
activity is the manifestation of existence, which is pure pleasure,
and the receding from non-existence, which is pure suffering. Pleasure
is thus the disclosure of perfections through activity. In other
words, activity indicates perfection and vice-versa perfection requires
activity. And activity in turn necessitates change, transformation,
alteration and destruction. The latter necessitate death and extinction,
decline and separation. Therefore, death and separation are in reality
renewal and renovation.44
However, for the one who sees only the outer aspect of things,
life itself is constant annihilation. Every passing moment flows
to non-existence. Her life, however long it is, is in fact short,
it is a mirage. Yet, through the insight of belief in divine Unity
she forms a connection with her Eternal Maker, who is the Sustainer
of all beings. And through that relation, she gains a bond of union
with all other beings, so that death cannot separate her from them.
She realizes that all her objects of love are saved from annihilation
through their connection with their Eternal and Compassionate Creator.45
As mentioned above, the beauty and perfections in beings are the
manifestations of the Divine Names. Since the Names are eternal,
their manifestations will surely be renewed and perpetuated. When
beings die, they do not depart to non-existence, only their relative
embodiments change and are replaced by different embodiments in
order to set forth the meanings of the Divine names. But the realities
they have expressed are preserved. They suffer no harm as the mirror-like
beings change. Nursi also adds that if the latter are conscious
beings, then their demise is a journeying to everlasting happiness,
to the eternal realm of the Divine Names. It is therefore crucial
that man realizes his true nature as mirror of the divine attributes.
Man, explains Nursi, is unable to sustain his existence. He does
not own himself. His existence and his faculties have been entrusted
to him. Thus, his duty is to hand then back to God by fulfilling
his nature as a conscious mirror of the divine perfections and turning
his gaze towards the beautiful inner aspects of things. He will
then find peace and happiness in this world and in the hereafter.
If instead he wastes this great wealth in faculties on trivial worldly
matters, he will suffer the penalty of betrayal of the trust and
will constantly lament under the blows of transience and separation.46
Thus the Qur'an declares, "Whatever good happens to you is
from God, and whatever befalls you is from yourself."(4:79).
Man Exists in his Non-Existence and he is Non-Existent in his
Existence
If man rises above his egotism and knows himself to be a mirror
of the manifestation of the Eternal Giver of existence, he gains
a perpetual existence. For "the lights of existence become
apparent through recognizing the Necessarily Existent One."47
But if he refuses to acknowledge his weakness and imagines that
he exists of himself, he will be submerged in the darkness of non-existence
and separation. For, from the moment that he severs his connection
with His Sustainer and relies on himself, he finds himself delivered
over to the fleeting moment, to the passing days, and to oblivion.48
As man fancies that he is the real owner of his life, he believes
that everything owns itself. He conflates the perfections in things
with the things themselves and does not see their relation with
the Divine Names, thus regarding them as idols worthy of love and
worship. He sees only the outer aspect of things, which is accidental
and transient. As a result, he constantly suffers the pain of separation
from his objects of attachment, which he thinks he will never see
again. In short, the threat of mortality which hangs over him makes
everything abortive.49
The threat of meaninglessness becomes a source of unspecific and
pervasive anxieties. Death becomes unintelligible because it is
imagined to be eternal annihilation.
This wretched situation is in fact a warning reminding him that
heedlessness and ingratitude carry the seed of Hell. In order to
make him realize that he is on the wrong path, God, in his infinite
mercy, fills his life with uneasiness and distress. But the one
who wants to act as he wishes refuses to submit to the rule of the
Creator; and in spite of all warnings, he chooses to not surrender
to Him. Instead, he looks for consolation in nurturing enmity towards
Him.50 That is, in order to declare his own dominion, he decides to
overthrow the Master. He launches the offensive against God in the
name of justice, denouncing Him as the "father of death".
He opposes the sense of justice which he finds in himself and which
is a reflection of the divine Name All-Just, to the principle of
injustice that he fancies is being applied in the world. He claims
that all he wants is to resolve this contradiction. Meanwhile, he
puts God on trial. And "from the moment he submits God to moral
judgment, he kills Him in his own heart."51
Dostoievsky's Ivan Karamazov defies God in the name of a higher
moral principle, namely, justice. He ranks justice above God. But
what is the basis of morality? Can the notion of justice be understood
without God? If there is no God, there is no immortality and therefore
no reward nor punishment. As Ivan Karamazov says, "I believe
that there is no virtue without immortality." But if there
is no virtue, there is no law: "Everything is permitted."
And if all is permitted, Ivan can act against his conscience and
allow his father to be killed. The same Ivan, who so violently took
the part of innocence, who trembled at the suffering of a child,
from the moment he contests the law of the Maker and refuses to
recognize any law but his own, accepts the legitimacy of murder.
He hates the death penalty because it reminds him of his condition
(describing an execution, he says angrily: "His head fell,
in the name of divine grace"), but at the same time he condones
crime in principle.52
The obstinate rival of God is confronted with a desperate contradiction:
He condemns God under the pretext that He is guilty of injustice
because he wants to become God himself, i.e. he refuses to recognize
any law other than his own. As Nietzsche boldly confessed,
"If there is a God, how can one tolerate not being God oneself?"
At the same time, since God claims all that is good in man,
he deliberately decides to deride what is good and choose what is
evil. Hence, man's refusal to accept his createdness, his false
claim to divinity, necessarily ends in exaltation of evil. For Nursi,
the argument that creation is evil is a petty subterfuge by which
God is denied in order to introduce the divinity of man. But alas!
If there is no God and no immortality, if death is the end of everything,
then nothing has purpose or meaning; suffering has no more meaning
than happiness. It becomes nonsense to talk about evil or good.
Conclusion
Nursi deals with the question of unbelief and metaphysical rebellion
on a cosmological scale in a much more comprehensive way than it
has hitherto been dealt with. He demonstrates how unbelief and rebellion
are the source of the evil that befalls man.53 Unbelief is the refusal
to believe in what exists. It is the belief in illusions. It is
not only negation and despair, but above all, the deliberate choice
of negation and despair, the obstinate refusal to surrender to one's
reality. And although unbelief is a single evil, it accuses the
whole universe of being worthless and futile.54 Unbelief condemns
all beings to meaninglessness and perdition. It converts the world
into a cruel slaughterhouse of all living beings, an awesome place
of sorrows for the conscious. It reduces man to the level of the
most wretched and grieving of all animals. It denigrates the perfections
of the Divine Beautiful Names that are reflected in the mirror of
all beings, thus nullifying the result of the Creator's activity
and denying His creativity.55
According to Nursi, man has been endowed with an overpowering desire
for immortality and an intense love of existence in order to find
the Eternally Existent One. Indeed, the happiness of man's immortality
lies in the eternity of his Sustainer, and in relying on His mercy.
For man's essential being is but a shadow of a Divine Name which
is enduring and eternal. But if man misuses that infinite love which
pertains to the Divine Essence and loves his own self, he suffers
endless despair, for he can find no point of support in himself.56
Nursi concludes that since there is in man such an irrepressible
longing for immortality, all his perfections and pleasures depend
on immortality. And since immortality is particular to his Eternal
Creator, man's most pressing duty is to form a relation with Him
and make peace with Him. Only then will his spirit and heart find
satisfaction, "for verily, in the remembrance of God [men's]
hearts do find their rest" (13:28).57
1. Theodicy here refers to that branch of theology
concerned with defending the attributes of God against objections
resulting from physical and moral evil.
2. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Flashes, from the Risale-i Nur Collection, trans. Sukran Vahide (Istanbul: Sozler Publications,
1996), p. 18.
3. Ibid., pp. 327, 333, 357.
4. Nursi, The Letters, from the Risale-i Nur Collection,
pp. 42-44.
5. "His is all dominion, and to Him all praise is due; and
He has the power to will anything." See Qur'an 64:1. See also
2:107; 5:17 ,18, 40, 120; 9:116; 24:42; 25:26; 39:6, 44; 42:49;
43:85; 45:27; 57:2, 5; 67:1. Muhammad Asad's translation of the
Qur'an, The Message of the Qur'an (Dar al Andalus: Gibraltar,
1984), is used throughout this essay.
6. Nursi, al-Mathnawi-al-'Arabi-an-Nuri (Iraq: Matba'at-uz-Zahra'al-Mahduda,
1988), p. 52; Nursi, The Words, from the Risale-i Nur
Collection, pp. 299-300.
7. "The seven heavens extol His limitless glory, and
the earth, and all that they contain; and there is not a single
thing but extols His limitless glory and praise; but you (O men)
fail to grasp the manner of their glorifying Him!" See
Qur'an 17:44. See Also Qur'an 21:79; 24:41; 62:1; 64:1.
8. "Hallowed be he in whose hand all dominion rests, since
he has power over all things." See Qur'an 67:1. See also 64:1;
65:12; 66:8.
9. Nursi, The Letters, pp. 290, 392-393.
10. Ibid., p. 292.
11. Ibid., pp. 81-82; 274-280; 337; Nursi, The Words, pp. 212-213,
484-6; Nursi, The Flashes, pp. 61, 441, 445-446.
12. Nursi, The Flashes, p. 23; Nursi, The Letters, p. 337; Nursi,
The Words, p. 487-488.
13. See Qur'an 11:107; 22:14; 85:16.
14. All of the 114 Qur'anic chapters but one start "in the
name of the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate." God's attributes
of mercy are mentioned 288 times. The word 'mercy' is also mentioned
114 times.
15. Nursi, The Rays, pp. 18, 192-193; Nursi, The
Words, p. 695.
16. Nursi, The Flashes, p. 403.
17. Nursi, The Rays, p. 194; Nursi, The Words, pp. 81, 310; Nursi,
The Flashes, p. 432.
18. See Qur'an 65:3.
19. Nursi, The Rays, pp. 88-89.
20. Nursi, The Rays, p. 197.
21. That is why the Qur'an says that "they who are bent on
denying God's signs and their (ultimate) meeting with Him-it is
they who abandon all hope of My grace and mercy." See Qur'an
29:23.
22. Nursi, The Rays., p. 15; Nursi, The Letters, pp. 344-345.
23. Nursi, The Words, pp. 579-581; 638-640.
24. Nursi, The Rays, pp. 19, 40.
25. Nursi, The Rays, pp. 89-90; Nursi, The Flashes, p. 106; Nursi,
The Words, p. 487.
26. Nursi, The Rays, pp. 85-86; Nursi, The Letters,
p. 340; Nursi, The Words, pp. 488-489; 649; 655.
Here, Nursi departs from the basic Platonic thesis that everything
has its own unseen and unrealized counterpart. For Nursi all perfection
belongs to the Creator alone. Beings are only mirrors of that perfection.
Nursi moves away from the Greek discourse, not only refuting it,
but also showing how Qur'anic Scripture operates outside Greek philosophy.
27. Al-asma'al-husna is usually translated as "The
Most Beautiful Names". But it may also be rendered as "Attributes
of Perfection", because the term 'ism' in Arabic, which is
the singular form of 'asma', denotes primarily the intrinsic attributes
of the thing under consideration (Muhammad Asad, The Message
of the Qur'an, Gibraltar: Dar al-Andalus, 1980, p. 231).
28. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Isharat-ul I'jaz (Cairo:
Sozler Publications, 1994), p. 79.
Nursi, The Words, pp. 300, 355, 653; Nursi, The Letters,
pp. 81-82; 343.
29. Nursi, The Flashes, p. 30.
30. Nursi, The Words, p. 50.
31. Nursi, The Flashes, pp. 26, 28, 334-336; Nursi, The
Words, pp. 49, 185-190; Nursi, The Letters, pp. 64-65.
In the world-view of the Qur'an, God is the Creator of all happening,
"All is from God" (an-Nisa' 4:78). However,
not everything that man regards as bad is really evil, for, "it
may well be that you hate a thing the while it is good for you,
and it may well be that you love a thing the while it is bad for
you: and God knows, whereas you do not know." (al-Baqara
2:21) The Qur'an says that "it may well be that you dislike
something which God might yet make a source of abundant good"
(an-nisa' 4:19), and also, "We test you [all]
through the bad and the good by way of trial: and unto Us you shall
be brought back" (al-anbiya' 21:35).
32. Nursi, The Words, pp. 240-241.
33. Nursi, al-Mathnawi-al-'Arabi-an-Nuri, p. 159.
34. Nursi, The Words, 480; Nursi, The Flashes,
p. 124.
35. Nursi, The Rays, 39; Nursi, The Flashes,
p. 429.
36. Nursi, The Words, pp. 330, 559.
37. M. Asad, The Message of the Qur'an, footnote 90,
118.
38. Nursi, The Words, p. 478; Nursi, The Letters,
p. 62.
39. Nursi, The Flashes, pp. 329, 357.
Never does God do the least wrong to His creatures! (3:182;
8:51; 22:10; 41:46; 50:29).
Verily God does not wrong [anyone] by as much as an atom's weight
( 4:40).
Verily God does not do the least wrong unto men, but it is men
who wrong themselves (10:44). See also Qur'an 3:117; 9:70;
11:101; 16:33; 16:118; 30:9; 39:40; 43:76.
40. Nursi, The Flashes, p. 28; Nursi, The Words,
p. 139.
41. Nursi points out that as far as physical existence is concerned,
the past and the future are dead; they do not exist in the present
moment. Physical life is only one fleeting instant. Therefore, physical
pain also exists only at the present moment, which is extremely
narrow. But usually people are inattentive to this reality. They
imagine life to be permanent and dissipate their patience on the
painful experiences of the past and the fears and anxiety of the
future. That state of mind increases their physical suffering manifold,
making it unbearable. See Nursi, The Flashes, pp. 25, 273.
42. Nursi, The Flashes, pp. 21-28; 266-283.
43. Nursi, The Rays, pp. 21-22.
44. Nursi, The Letters, pp. 338-340; Nursi, The Flashes,
p. 450.
45. Nursi, The Letters, pp. 340-342; Nursi, The Rays,
pp. 78-81; 274.
46. Nursi, The Words, pp. 37-40; 333-334.
47. Nursi, The Letters, p. 342.
48. Ibid., pp. 538-539; Nursi, The Words, pp.
158, 493.
49. Nursi, The Words, pp. 28, 562-564, 663; Nursi, The
Flashes, pp. 162-163.
50. Nursi, The Flashes, pp. 459-460; Nursi, The Words,
pp. 145-146; 493.
51. A. Camus, The Rebel: An essay on Man in Revolt (New
York: Alfred A.Knopf, 1957), p. 62.
52. Ibid, pp. 56-61.
53. Nursi, The Rays, pp. 19-24, pp. 173-174; Nursi, The
Flashes, pp. 119-122; Nursi, The Words, pp. 27-28;
45-50; 319-340; 557-567; 661-668.
54. Nursi, The Words, pp. 329, 479.
55. Ibid., p. 320; Nursi, The Rays, p. 21.
56. Nursi, The Rays., pp. 70-74; Nursi, The Words, pp. 368-369; 492-493;
663-664.
57. Nursi, The Flashes, pp. 30-31.
2004, Society
for Scriptural Reasoning |
