On Birinci Mektup/en

In His Name,

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.(17:44)

[This letter comprises a significant remedy and points out four small gems from the treasuries of four verses.]

My Dear Brother!

The All-Wise Qur’an taught my soul these four different matters at various times. I am writing them now so that those of my brothers who wish may also receive instruction or have a share of them. With regard to subject matter, each is a sample, a small jewel, from the treasuries of four different verses and their truths. The form of each of the four topics is different, and so are the benefits each yields.

FIRST TOPIC

Indeed the wiles of Satan are weak.(4:76)

O my soul which is in despair due to doubts and scruples! The association of ideas and the imaginings or suppositions that occur to one are a sort of involuntar y expression or depiction. If they arise from good and luminosity, the qualities and reality they possess are transposed to an extent to their forms and images – just like the sun’s light and heat are transposed to its reflection in a mirror.

If such depictions are of something evil and dense, their qualities and requirements cannot pass or spread to their reflections. For example, the reflection in a mirror of something unclean or corrupt is neither unclean nor corrupt. Nor can a snake’s image bite. In consequence, to imagine unbelief is not unbelief, and to imagine abuse is not abuse. Particularly if it is involuntary or some notion or speculation occurs to one, then it is altogether harmless. Furthermore, according to the Sunni school, the people of truth, if the Shari‘a rules that a thing is bad or unclean, it is because it is prohibited by God. Since what we are discussing are involuntary associations of ideas and imaginings that occur to one without one’s consent, they are not subject to such prohibitions. However ugly or unclean the form they take, they are not ugly and unclean.

SECOND TOPIC

This is a fruit of the Pine, Cedar, and Black Poplar trees of Tepelice in the mountains of Barla, which has been included in The Words(*)and not repeated here.

THIRD TOPIC

The two following matters are part of the examples given in the Twenty-Fifth Word(*)showing the impotence of present-day civilization before the miraculousness of the Qur’an.They are two examples out of thousands proving how unjust are the laws of present-day civilization, which opposes the Qur’an: The ruling of the Qur’an:

And for the man a portion equal of that of two women(4:176) is both pure justice, and pure compassion.

Yes, it is justice, for the overwhelming majority of men take a wife and undertake to provide for her. As for women, they take a husband and load their livelihood on him, and this makes up for the deficiency in what they inherit.

It is also a mercy, for a weak girl is greatly in need of kindness from her father and brothers. The Qur’an decrees that she receives this without worry. Her father does not look on her with misgivings, thinking of her as a harmful child because of whom half of his wealth will go to a stranger. His kindness is untainted by anxiety and anger. Her brother’s kindness and protection are free of rivalry and jealousy. He does not consider her as a rival who will destroy half the family and give a significant part of their property to someone else. His protective and kindly feelings for her will not be marred by resentment and hostility.

Thus, the girl, who is delicate and weak by nature, is apparently deprived of a small part, but in place of it she gains inexhaustible wealth in the form of the compassion and kindness of those close to her. Also, to give her more than her due with the idea of being more merciful to her than divine mercy, is not kindness but a great wrong. Indeed, the savage greed of the present time, which recalls the appalling cruelty of the live burial of girl children in the Age of Ignorance due to savage jealousy, may possibly open the way to merciless wickedness.

Like this one, all Qur’anic rulings confirm the decree, And we did not send you but as a Mercy to all the worlds.(21:107)

FOURTH TOPIC

And to the mother, a sixth.(4:11)

This low civilization, which causes injustice by giving daughters more than their due, perpetrates an even greater injustice by denying the mother her right.

Evet, rahmet-i Rabbaniyenin en hürmetli en halâvetli en latîf ve en şirin bir cilvesi olan şefkat-i valide, hakaik-i kâinat içinde en muhterem en mükerrem bir hakikattir. Ve valide, en kerîm en rahîm öyle fedakâr bir dosttur ki o şefkat sâikasıyla bir valide, bütün dünyasını ve hayatını ve rahatını, veledi için feda eder. Hattâ valideliğin en basit ve en edna derecesinde olan korkak tavuk, o şefkatin küçücük bir lem’asıyla yavrusunu müdafaa için ite atılır, arslana saldırır.

İşte böyle muhterem ve muazzez bir hakikati taşıyan bir valideyi, veledinin malından mahrum etmek, o muhterem hakikate karşı ne kadar dehşetli bir haksızlık, ne derece vahşetli bir hürmetsizlik, ne mertebe cinayetli bir hakaret ve arş-ı rahmeti titreten bir küfran-ı nimet ve hayat-ı içtimaiye-i beşeriyenin gayet parlak ve nâfi’ bir tiryakına bir zehir katmak olduğunu, insaniyet-perverlik iddia eden insan canavarları anlamazlarsa elbette hakiki insanlar anlar. Kur’an-ı Hakîm’in فَلِاُمِّهِ السُّدُسُ hükmünü, ayn-ı hak ve mahz-ı adalet olduğunu bilirler.

اَل۟بَاقٖى هُوَ ال۟بَاقٖى

Said Nursî

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