The Nineteenth Word
[About the Messengership of Muhammad (PBUH)]
I could not praise Muhammad with my words; rather, my words were made praiseworthy by Muhammad.
Yes, this Word is beautiful, but what makes it so is the most beautiful of all things, the attributes and qualities of Muhammad (PBUH).
Also being the Fourteenth Flash, this Word consists of fourteen ‘Droplets.’
FIRST DROPLET
There are three great and universal things which make known to us our Sustainer.
One is the book of the universe, a jot of whose testimony we have heard from the thirteen Flashes together with the thirteenth lesson from the Arabic Risale-i Nur.
Another is the Seal of the Prophets (Peace and blessings be upon him), the supreme sign of the book of the universe.
The other is the Qur’an of Mighty Stature.
Now we must become acquainted with the Seal of the Prophets (PBUH), who is the second and articulate proof, and must listen to him.
Yes, consider the collective personality of this proof: the face of the earth has become his mosque, Mecca, his mihrab, and Medina, his pulpit. Our Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him), this clear proof, is leader of all the believers, preacher to all mankind, the chief of all the prophets, lord of all the saints, the leader of a circle for the remembrance of God comprising all the prophets and saints. He is a luminous tree whose living roots are all the prophets, and fresh fruits are all the saints; whose claims all the prophets relying on their miracles and all the saints relying on their wonder-working confirm and corroborate.
For he declares and claims: “There is no god but God!” And all on left and right, that is, those luminous reciters of God’s Names lined up in the past and the future, repeat the same words, and through their consensus in effect declare: “You speak the truth and what you say is right!” What false idea has the power to meddle in a claim which is thus affirmed and corroborated by thousands?
SECOND DROPLET
Just as that luminous proof of Divine unity is affirmed by the unanimity and consensus of those two wings, so do hundreds of indications in the revealed scriptures, like the Torah and Bible,(*[1]) and the thousands of signs that appeared before the beginning of his mission, and the well-known news given by the voices from the Unseen and the unanimous testimony of the soothsayers, the indications of the thousands of his miracles like the Splitting of the Moon, and the justice of Shari’a all confirm and corroborate him. So too, in his person, his laudable morals, which were at the summit of perfection; and in his duties, his complete confidence and elevated qualities, which were of the highest excellence, and his extraordinary fear of God, worship, seriousness, and fortitude, which demonstrated the strength of his belief, and his total certainty and his complete steadfastness, – these all show as clearly as the sun how utterly faithful he was to his cause.
THIRD DROPLET
If you wish, come! Let us go to Arabian Peninsula, to the Era of Bliss! In our imaginations we shall see him at his duties and visit him. Look! We see a person distinguished by his fine character and beautiful form. In his hand is a miraculous book and on his tongue, a truthful address; he is delivering a pre-eternal sermon to all mankind, indeed, to man, jinn, and the angels, and to all beings. He solves and expounds the strange riddle of the mystery of the world’s creation; he discovers and solves the abstruse talisman which is the mystery of the universe; and he provides convincing and satisfying answers to the three awesome and difficult questions that are asked of all beings and have always bewildered and occupied minds: “Where do you come from? What are you doing here? What is your destination?”
FOURTH DROPLET
See! He spreads such a Light of truth that if you look at the universe as being outside the luminous sphere of his truth and guidance, you see it to be like a place of general mourning, and beings strangers to one another and hostile, and inanimate beings to be like ghastly corpses and living creatures like orphans weeping at the blows of death and separation.
Now look! Through the Light he spreads, that place of universal mourning has been transformed into a place where God’s Names and praises are recited in joy and ecstasy. The foreign, hostile beings have become friends and brothers. While the dumb, dead inanimate creatures have all become familiar officials and docile servants. And the weeping, complaining orphans are seen to be either reciting God’s Names and praises or offering thanks at being released from their duties.
FIFTH DROPLET
Also, through his Light, the motion and movement of the universe, and its variations, changes and transformations cease being meaningless, futile, and the playthings of chance; they rise to being dominical missives, pages inscribed with the signs of creation, mirrors to the Divine Names, and the world itself becomes a book of the Eternally Besought One’s wisdom.
Man’s boundless weakness and impotence make him inferior to all other animals and his intelligence, an instrument for conveying grief, sorrow, and sadness, makes him more wretched, yet when he is illumined with that Light, he rises above all animals and all creatures. Through entreaty, his illuminated impotence, poverty, and intelligence make him a petted monarch; due to his complaints, he becomes a spoiled vicegerent of the earth.
That is to say, if it were not for his Light, the universe and man, and all things, would be nothing. Yes, certainly such a person is necessary in such a wondrous universe; otherwise the universe and firmaments would not be in existence.
SIXTH DROPLET
Thus, that Being brings and announces the good news of eternal happiness; he is the discoverer and proclaimer of an infinite mercy, the herald and observer of the beauties of the sovereignty of dominicality, and the discloser and displayer of the treasures of the Divine Names. If you regard him in that way, that is in regard to his being a worshipful servant of God, you will see him to be the model of love, the exemplar of mercy, the glory of mankind, and the most luminous fruit of the tree of creation. While if you look in this way, that is, in regard to his Messengership, you see him to be the proof of God, the lamp of truth, the sun of guidance, and the means to happiness.
And look! His Light has lighted up from east to west like dazzling lightning, and half the earth and a fifth of mankind has accepted the gift of his guidance and preserved it like life itself. So how is it that our evil-commanding souls and satans do not accept with all its degrees, the basis of all such a Being claimed, that is, There is no god but God?
SEVENTH DROPLET
Now, consider how, eradicating in no time at all their evil, savage customs and habits to which they were fanatically attached, he decked out the various wild, unyielding peoples of that broad peninsula with all the finest virtues, and made them teachers of all the world and masters to the civilized nations. See, it was not an outward domination, he conquered and subjugated their minds, spirits, hearts, and souls. He became the beloved of hearts, the teacher of minds, the trainer of souls, the ruler of spirits.
EIGHTH DROPLET
You know that a small habit like cigarette smoking among a small nation can be removed permanently only by a powerful ruler with great effort. But look! This Being removed numerous ingrained habits from intractable, fanatical large nations with slight outward power and little effort in a short period of time, and in their place he so established exalted qualities that they became as firm as if they had mingled with their very blood. He achieved very many extraordinary feats like this.
Thus, we present the Arabian Peninsula as a challenge to those who refuse to see the testimony of the blessed age of the Prophet. Let them each take a hundred philosophers, go there, and strive for a hundred years; would they be able to carry out in that time one hundredth of what he achieved in a year?
NINTH DROPLET
Also, you know that an insignificant man of small standing among a small community in a disputed matter of small importance cannot tell a small but shameful lie brazen-faced and without fear without displaying anxiety or disquiet enough to inform the enemies at his side of his deception. Now look at that Being; although he undertook a tremendous task which required an official of great authority and great standing and a situation of great security, can any contradiction at all be found in the words he uttered among a community of great size in the face of great hostility concerning a great cause and matters of great significance, with great ease and freedom, without fear, hesitation, diffidence, or anxiety, with pure sincerity, great seriousness, and in an intense, elevated manner that angered his enemies? Is it at all possible that any trickery should have been involved? God forbid!
It is naught but Revelation inspired.(*[2]) The truth does not deceive, and one who perceives the truth is not deceived. His way, which is truth, is free of deception. How could a fancy appear to one who sees the truth to be the truth, and deceive him?
TENTH DROPLET
Now, look! What curiosity-arousing, attractive, necessary, and awesome truths he shows, what matters he proves!
You know that what impels man most is curiosity. Even, if it was to be said to you: “If you give half of your life and property, someone will come from the Moon and Jupiter and tell you all about them. He will also tell you the truth about your future and what will happen to you,” you would be bound to give them if you have any curiosity at all.
Whereas that Being tells of a Monarch Who is such that in His realm, the Moon flies round a moth like a fly, and the moth, the earth, flutters round a lamp, and the lamp, the sun, is merely one lamp among thousands in one guest-house out of thousands of that Monarch.
Also, he speaks truly of a world so wondrous and a revolution so momentous that if the earth was a bomb and exploded, it would not be all that strange. Look! Listen to Suras like, When the sun is folded up;(*[3]) * When the sky is cleft asunder;(*[4]) * [The Day] of Noise and Clamour;(*[5]) which he recites.
Also, he speaks truly about a future in comparison with which the future in this world is like a tiny mirage. And he tells most seriously of a happiness in comparison with which all worldly happiness is but a fleeting flash of lightning in relation to an eternal sun.
ELEVENTH DROPLET
For sure, wonders await us under the apparent veil of the universe which is thus strange and perplexing. So one thus wonderful and extraordinary, a displayer of marvels, is necessary to tell of its wonders. It is apparent from that Being’s conduct that he has seen them, and sees them, and says that he has seen them. And he instructs us most soundly concerning what the God of the heavens and the earth, Who nurtures us with His bounties, wants and desires of us.
Everyone should therefore leave everything and run to and heed this Being who teaches numerous other necessary and curiosity-arousing truths like these, so how is it that most people are deaf and blind, and mad even, so that they do not see this truth, and they do not listen to it and understand it?
TWELFTH DROPLET
Thus, just as this Being is an articulate proof and true evidence at the degree of the veracity of the unity of the Creator of beings, so is he a decisive proof and clear evidence for the resurrection of the dead and eternal happiness. Yes, with his guidance he is the reason for eternal happiness coming about and is the means of attaining it; so too through his prayers and supplications, he is the cause of its existence and reason for its creation. We repeat here this mystery, which is mentioned in the Tenth Word, due to its ‘station’.
See! This Being prays with a prayer so supreme it is as if the Arabian Peninsula and the earth itself performs the prayers through his sublime prayer, and offers entreaties. See, he also entreats in a congregation so vast that it is as if all the luminous and perfected members of mankind from the time of Adam till our age and until the end of time, are following him and saying “Amen” to his supplications.
And see! He is beseeching for a need so universal that not only the dwellers of the earth, but also those of the heavens, and all beings, join in his prayer, declaring: “Yes! O our Sustainer! Grant it to us! We too want it!” And he supplicates with such want, so sorrowfully, in such a loving, yearning, and beseeching fashion that he brings the whole cosmos to tears, leading them to join in his prayer.
And see! The purpose and aim of his prayer is such it raises man and the world, and all creatures, from the lowest of the low, from inferiority, worthlessness, and uselessness to the highest of the high; that is to having value, permanence, and exalted duties.
And see! He seeks and pleads for help and mercy in a manner so elevated and sweet, it is as if he makes all beings and the heavens and the earth hear, and bringing them to ecstasy, to exclaim: “Amen, O our God! Amen!”
And see! He seeks his needs from One so Powerful, Hearing, and Munificent, One so Knowing, Seeing, and Compassionate, that He sees and hears the most secret need of the most hidden living being and its entreaties, accepts them, and has mercy on it. For He gives what is asked for, if only through the tongue of disposition. And He gives it in so Wise, Seeing, and Compassionate a form that it leaves no doubt that that nurturing and regulation is particular to the All-Hearing and All-Seeing One, the Most Generous and Most Compassionate One.
THIRTEENTH DROPLET
What does he want, this pride of the human race, who taking behind him all the eminent of mankind, stands on top of the world, and raising up his hand, is praying? What is this unique being, who is truly the glory of the cosmos, seeking? Listen!
He is seeking eternal happiness. He is asking for eternal life, and to meet with God. He wants Paradise. And he wants all the Sacred Divine Names, which display their beauty and decrees in the mirrors of beings.
Even, if it were not for reasons for the fulfilment of those countless requests, like mercy, grace, wisdom, and justice, a single of that Being’s prayers would have been sufficient for the construction of Paradise, the creation of which is as easy for Divine power as the creation of the spring. Yes, just as his Messengership was the reason for the opening of this place of examination and trial, so too his worship and servitude to God were the reason for the opening of the next world.
Would the perfect order observed in the universe, which has caused scholars and the intelligent to pronounce: “It is not possible for there to be anything better than what exists;” and the faultless beauty of art within mercy, the incomparable beauty of dominicality, – would these permit the ugliness, the cruelty, the lack of order of its hearing and responding to the least significant, the least important desires and voices, and its considering unimportant the most important, the most necessary wishes, and its not hearing them or understanding them, and not carrying them out? God forbid! A hundred thousand times, God forbid! Such a beauty would not permit such an ugliness; it would not become ugly.
And so, my imaginary friend! That is enough for now, we must return. For if we remain a hundred years in this age in the Arabian Peninsula, we still would only completely comprehend one hundredth of the marvels of that Being’s duties and the wonders he carried out, and we would never tire of watching him.
Now, come! We shall look at the centuries, which will turn above us. See how each has opened like a flower through the effulgence it has received from that Sun of Guidance! They have produced millions of enlightened fruits like Abu Hanifa, Shafi’i, Abu Bayazid Bistami, Shah Geylani, Shah Naqshband, Imam Ghazzali, and Imam Rabbani.
But postponing the details of our observations to another time, we must recite some benedictions for that displayer of miracles and bringer of guidance, which mention a number of his certain miracles:
Endless peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad, to the number of the good deeds of his community, to whom was revealed the All-Wise Criterion of Truth and Falsehood, from One Most Merciful, Most Compassionate, from the Sublime Throne; whose Messengership was foretold by the Torah and Bible, and told of by wondrous signs, the voices of jinn, saints of man, and soothsayers; at whose indication the moon split; our master Muhammad!
Peace and blessings be upon him thousands and thousands of times, to the number of the breaths of his community; at whose beckoning came the tree, on whose prayer rain swiftly fell; and whom the cloud shaded from the heat; who satisfied a hundred men with his food; from between whose fingers three times flowed water like the Spring of Kawthar; and to whom God made speak the lizard, the gazelle, the wolf, the torso, the arm, the camel, the mountain, the rock, and the clod; the one who made the Ascension and whose eye did not waver; our master and intercessor, Muhammad!
Peace and blessings be upon him thousands and thousands of times, to the number of the letters of the Qur’an formed in the words, represented with the permission of the Most Merciful in the mirrors of the airwaves, at the reciting of all the Qur’an’s words by all reciters from when it was first revealed to the end of time.
And grant us forgiveness and have mercy on us, O God, for each of those blessings. Amen.
[I have described the evidences for Muhammad’s (PBUH) Prophethood which I have here indicated briefly in a Turkish treatise called Şua’at-ı Marifeti’n-Nebi and in the Nineteenth Letter (The Miracles of Muhammad). And there too aspects of the All-Wise Qur’an’s miraculousness have been mentioned briefly. Again, in a Turkish treatise called Lemeat (Gleams) and in the Twenty-Fifth Word (The Miraculousness of the Qur’an) I have explained concisely forty ways in which the Qur’an is a miracle, and indicated forty aspects of its miraculousness. And of those forty aspects, only the eloquence in the word-order, I have written in forty pages in an Arabic commentary called Isharat al-I’jaz (Signs of Miraculousness). If you have the need, you may refer to those three works.]
FOURTEENTH DROPLET
The All-Wise Qur’an, the treasury of miracles and supreme miracle, proves the Prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH) together with Divine unity so decisively that it leaves no need for further proof. And we shall give its definition and indicate one or two flashes of its miraculousness which have been the cause of criticism.
The All-Wise Qur’an, which makes known to us our Sustainer, is thus: it is the pre- eternal translator of the great book of the universe;
the discloser of the treasures of the Divine Names concealed in the pages of the earth and the heavens;
the key to the truths hidden beneath these lines of events;
the treasury of the favours of the Most Merciful and pre-eternal addresses, which come forth from the World of the Unseen beyond the veil of this Manifest World;
the sun, foundation, and plan of the spiritual world of Islam,
and the map of the worlds of the hereafter;
the distinct expounder, lucid exposition, articulate proof, and clear translator of the Divine Essence, attributes, and deeds;
the instructor, true wisdom, guide, and leader of the world of humanity;
Hem bir kitab-ı hikmet ve şeriat hem bir kitab-ı dua ve ubudiyet hem bir kitab-ı emir ve davet hem bir kitab-ı zikir ve marifet gibi; bütün hâcat-ı maneviyesine karşı birer kitap ve bütün muhtelif ehl-i mesalik ve meşarib olan evliya ve sıddıkînin, asfiya ve muhakkikînin her birinin meşreplerine lâyık birer risale ibraz eden bir “Kütüphane-i Mukaddese”dir.
Sebeb-i kusur tevehhüm edilen tekraratındaki lem’a-i i’caza bak ki Kur’an, hem bir kitab-ı zikir hem bir kitab-ı dua hem bir kitab-ı davet olduğundan içinde tekrar müstahsendir, belki elzemdir ve eblağdır. Ehl-i kusurun zannı gibi değil. Zira zikrin şe’ni tekrar ile tenvirdir. Duanın şe’ni terdad ile takrirdir. Emir ve davetin şe’ni tekrar ile tekiddir.
Hem herkes her vakit bütün Kur’an’ı okumaya muktedir olamaz. Fakat bir sureye galiben muktedir olur. Onun için en mühim makasıd-ı Kur’aniye ekser uzun surelerde derc edilerek her bir sure bir küçük Kur’an hükmüne geçmiş. Demek, hiç kimseyi mahrum etmemek için tevhid ve haşir ve kıssa-i Musa gibi bazı maksatlar tekrar edilmiş.
Hem cismanî ihtiyaç gibi manevî hâcat dahi muhteliftir. Bazısına insan her nefes muhtaç olur; cisme hava, ruha hû gibi. Bazısına her saat, Bismillah gibi ve hâkeza… Demek tekrar-ı âyet, tekerrür-ü ihtiyaçtan ileri gelmiş ve o ihtiyaca işaret ederek uyandırıp teşvik etmek hem iştiyakı ve iştihayı tahrik etmek için tekrar eder.
Hem Kur’an müessistir. Bir din-i mübinin esasatıdır ve şu âlem-i İslâmiyet’in temelleridir ve hayat-ı içtimaiye-i beşeriyeyi değiştirip muhtelif tabakata, mükerrer suallerine cevaptır. Müessise tesbit etmek için tekrar lâzımdır. Tekid için terdad lâzımdır. Teyid için takrir, tahkik, tekrir lâzımdır.
Hem öyle mesail-i azîme ve hakaik-i dakikadan bahsediyor ki umumun kalplerinde yerleştirmek için çok defa muhtelif suretlerde tekrar lâzımdır. Bununla beraber sureten tekrardır fakat manen her bir âyetin çok manaları, çok faydaları, çok vücuh ve tabakatı vardır. Her bir makamda ayrı bir mana ve fayda ve maksatlar için zikrediliyor.
Hem Kur’an’ın mesail-i kevniyenin bazısında ibham ve icmali ise irşadî bir lem’a-i i’cazdır. Ehl-i ilhadın tevehhüm ettikleri gibi medar-ı tenkit olamaz ve sebeb-i kusur değildir.
Eğer desen: Acaba neden Kur’an-ı Hakîm, felsefenin mevcudattan bahsettiği gibi etmiyor? Bazı mesaili mücmel bırakır, bazısını nazar-ı umumîyi okşayacak, hiss-i âmmeyi rencide etmeyecek, fikr-i avamı taciz edip yormayacak bir suret-i basitane-i zâhiranede söylüyor.
Cevaben deriz ki: Felsefe hakikatin yolunu şaşırmış, onun için. Hem geçmiş derslerden ve Sözlerden elbette anlamışsın ki Kur’an-ı Hakîm, şu kâinattan bahsediyor; tâ zat ve sıfât ve esma-i İlahiyeyi bildirsin. Yani bu kitab-ı kâinatın maânîsini anlattırıp tâ Hâlık’ını tanıttırsın. Demek, mevcudata kendileri için değil belki mûcidleri için bakıyor. Hem umuma hitap ediyor. İlm-i hikmet ise mevcudata mevcudat için bakıyor. Hem hususan ehl-i fenne hitap ediyor.
Öyle ise mademki Kur’an-ı Hakîm, mevcudatı delil yapıyor, bürhan yapıyor. Delil zâhirî olmak, nazar-ı umuma çabuk anlaşılmak gerektir. Hem mademki Kur’an-ı Mürşid, bütün tabakat-ı beşere hitap eder. Kesretli tabaka ise tabaka-i avamdır. Elbette irşad ister ki lüzumsuz şeyleri ibham ile icmal etsin ve dakik şeyleri temsil ile takrib etsin ve mağlatalara düşürmemek için zâhirî nazarlarında bedihî olan şeyleri, lüzumsuz belki zararlı bir surette tağyir etmemektir.
Mesela, güneşe der: “Döner bir siracdır, bir lambadır.” Zira güneşten, güneş için mahiyeti için bahsetmiyor. Belki bir nevi intizamın zembereği ve nizamın merkezi olduğundan, intizam ve nizam ise Sâni’in âyine-i marifeti olduğundan bahsediyor. Evet, der: اَلشَّم۟سُ تَج۟رٖى “Güneş döner.” Bu döner tabiriyle kış yaz, gece gündüzün deveranındaki muntazam tasarrufat-ı kudreti ihtar ile azamet-i Sâni’i ifham eder. İşte bu dönmek hakikati ne olursa olsun, maksud olan ve hem mensuc hem meşhud olan intizama tesir etmez.
Hem der: وَجَعَل۟نَا ( الشَّم۟سَ ) سِرَاجًا Şu sirac tabiriyle âlemi bir kasır suretinde, içinde olan eşya ise insana ve zîhayata ihzar edilmiş müzeyyenat ve mat’umat ve levazımat olduğunu ve güneş dahi musahhar bir mumdar olduğunu ihtar ile rahmet ve ihsan-ı Hâlık’ı ifham eder.
Şimdi bak, şu sersem ve geveze felsefe ne der? Bak, diyor ki:
“Güneş, bir kitle-i azîme-i mayia-yi nâriyedir. Ondan fırlamış olan seyyaratı etrafında döndürüp cesameti bu kadar, mahiyeti böyledir şöyledir.” Mûhiş bir dehşetten, müthiş bir hayretten başka, ruha bir kemal-i ilmî vermiyor. Bahs-i Kur’an gibi etmiyor. Buna kıyasen bâtınen kof, zâhiren mutantan felsefî meselelerin ne kıymette olduğunu anlarsın. Onun şaşaa-i surîsine aldanıp Kur’an’ın gayet mu’ciz-nüma beyanına karşı hürmetsizlik etme!
اَللّٰهُمَّ اج۟عَلِ ال۟قُر۟اٰنَ شِفَاءً لَنَا وَ لِكَاتِبِهٖ وَ اَم۟ثَالِهٖ مِن۟ كُلِّ دَاءٍ وَ مُونِسًا لَنَا وَ لَهُم۟ فٖى حَيَاتِنَا وَ بَع۟دَ مَمَاتِنَا وَ فِى الدُّن۟يَا قَرٖينًا وَ فِى ال۟قَب۟رِ مُونِسًا وَ فِى ال۟قِيَامَةِ شَفٖيعًا وَ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ نُورًا وَ مِنَ النَّارِ سِت۟رًا وَ حِجَابًا وَ فِى ال۟جَنَّةِ رَفٖيقًا وَ اِلَى ال۟خَي۟رَاتِ كُلِّهَا دَلٖيلًا وَ اِمَامًا بِفَض۟لِكَ وَ جُودِكَ وَ كَرَمِكَ وَ رَح۟مَتِكَ يَا اَك۟رَمَ ال۟اَك۟رَمٖينَ وَ يَا اَر۟حَمَ الرَّاحِمٖينَ اٰمٖينَ
اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ وَ سَلِّم۟ عَلٰى مَن۟ اُن۟زِلَ عَلَي۟هِ ال۟فُر۟قَانُ ال۟حَكٖيمُ
وَ عَلٰى اٰلِهٖ وَ صَح۟بِهٖ اَج۟مَعٖينَ اٰمٖينَ اٰمٖينَ
İhtar: Arabî Risaletü’n-Nur’da On Dördüncü Reşha’nın altı katresi, bâhusus Dördüncü Katre’nin altı nüktesi, Kur’an-ı Hakîm’in kırk kadar enva-ı i’cazından on beşini beyan eder. Ona iktifaen burada ihtisar ettik. İstersen ona müracaat et, bir hazine-i mu’cizat bulursun.