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In His Name, be He Glorified! And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.(17:44)

[Part of a letter written in response to a gift from his above-mentioned, well-known student. (*)]

Thirdly:You sent me a present and want to break an extremely important rule of mine! Just this time I am not going to say: “I don’t accept presents from you in the same way that I don’t accept them from Abdülmecid (*)

and Abdurrahman, (*)my brother and nephew,” because since you are more advanced than them and closer in spirit, I can’t refuse them even if I refuse everyone else’s. But apropos of this, I shall tell you the reason for my rule. It is like this:

The Old Said never accepted favours. He preferred death to becoming obliged to people. He never broke that rule of his despite suffering great hardship and difficulty. This wretched brother of yours inherited this characteristic from the Old Said, and it is not asceticism or artificial self-sufficiency; there are four or five important reasons for it:

The First:The people of misguidance accuse religious scholars of securing advantage through their learning. They attack them unfairly, saying: “They are exploiting knowledge and religion to make a living for themselves.” This has to be shown to be false in practice.

The Second: We are charged with following the prophets in disseminating the truth. In the All-Wise Qur’an those who do this say:My reward is only due from God * My reward is only due from God,(10:72, etc.) and they display independence. Most meaningful in regard to this matter is the verse in Sura Ya. Sin.: Follow those who ask no reward of you, and who have themselves received guidance.(36:21)

The Third: As is explained in the First Word, one should give in God’s name and take in God’s name. Whereas mostly either the one giving is heedless and gives in his own name and implicitly puts the recipient under an obligation, or the recipient is heedless; he gives the thanks and praise due to the True Provider to apparent causes and is in error.

The Fourth: Reliance on God, contentment, and frugality are such a treasury and wealth they can be exchanged for nothing. I do not want to take things from people and shut up that inexhaustible treasury. I offer endless thanks to the All-Glorious Provider that since my childhood He has not compelled me to remain under obligation and so suffer abasement. Relying on His munificence, I beseech His mercy that I may remain faithful to this rule for the rest of my life.

The Fifth: In consequence of many signs and experiences over the past year or two I have formed the firm conviction that I am not permitted to accept people’s goods and particularly the gifts of the rich and of officials. Some make me ill. Indeed, they are made to be like that; they are made so that I cannot eat them. Sometimes they are turned into a form that upsets me.

This must be a sort of command not to accept the goods of others, prohibiting me from accepting them. Moreover, I have a need for solitude, I cannot receive everyone all the time. Accepting people’s gifts necessitates considering their feelings and accepting them at times I do not want to.

Hem tasannu ve temelluktan beni kurtaran bir parça kuru ekmek yemek ve yüz yamalı bir libas giymek, bana daha hoş geliyor. Gayrın en a’lâ baklavasını yemek, en murassa libasını giymek ve onların hatırını saymaya mecbur olmak, bana nâhoş geliyor.

Altıncısı: Ve istiğna sebebinin en mühimmi, mezhebimizce en muteber olan İbn-i Hacer diyor ki: “Salahat niyetiyle sana verilen bir şeyi, salih olmazsan kabul etmek haramdır.”

İşte şu zamanın insanları hırs ve tama’ yüzünden küçük bir hediyesini pek pahalı satıyorlar. Benim gibi günahkâr bir bîçareyi, salih veya veli tasavvur ederek sonra bir ekmek veriyorlar. Eğer hâşâ ben kendimi salih bilsem o alâmet-i gururdur, salahatin ademine delildir. Eğer kendimi salih bilmezsem, o malı kabul etmek caiz değildir.

Hem âhirete müteveccih a’male mukabil sadaka ve hediyeyi almak, âhiretin bâki meyvelerini dünyada fâni bir surette yemek demektir.

اَل۟بَاقٖى هُوَ ال۟بَاقٖى

Said Nursî

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