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      In   the   name  of   ALLAH,   the    Beneficent,   the    Merciful



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             I N F O R M A T I O N    &   N E W S    N E T W O R K

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>From irfan@cae.wisc.edu Wed Oct  5 15:02:44 1994


  THE LIGHT OF IMAN(BELIEF) IN ALLAH VERSUS THE DARKNESS OF KUFUR(UNBELIEF)
			From the Risale-i Nur Collection
                    (from the Twenty-Third Word, First Chapter.) 


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A   D R O P L E T    From the Vast Ocean of Miraculous Qur'an

Translations from the Works of Bediuzzaman (The Wonder of the Age) 
					Said Nursi.
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     In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

 "He it is who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth 
to make it supreme over all religion: and sufficient is  Allah as  a Witness.  
Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are firm
against the unbelievers and merciful among each other."  [Al Qur'an 48:28]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

  THE LIGHT OF IMAN(BELIEF) IN ALLAH VERSUS THE DARKNESS OF KUFUR(UNBELIEF)
              from the Twenty-Third Word. First Chapter. 
              			

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Indeed, We have created man on the most excellent of patterns,  then allow  him
descend to the lowest of the low,  Except those  who believe  and do  righteous
deeds: For they shall have a reward unfailing. [the Qur'an 95:4-6] 

We shall  explain in  Five Points  only five  of the  beauties of  iman out  of
thousands.

FIRST POINT:

Through the light of iman (affirming faith and trust in Allah  SWT), man  rises
to the highest of the high and attains a value that qualifies him for Paradise.
Through the darkness of kufur (concealing or covering the truth, unbelief),  he
descends to the lowest of the low and takes a form that fits him for Hell.  All
because iman connects man to his All-Glorious Allah who creates with art;  iman
is a connection. Thus, man acquires value by virtue  of making  known the  arts
and embroideries of Allah's Rabbani Names [Creator, Life-Giver,  Administrator,
Guider, Sustainer] inscribed in him through iman. Kufur severs the  connection,
and due to that severance, arts and embroideries derived  from Allah's  Rabbani
Names are concealed. Man's value then becomes confined to his physical  matter.
Since this matter has a transitory, diminishing, and temporary animal life, its
value is nothing. We shall explain this by means of a comparison:

  For example: Considering man's arts, [one knows that] the value of the
material used and that of the art are  entirely different.  Sometimes they  are
equal, sometimes the material is more valuable, and sometimes  it happens  that
five dollars' worth of art can be found in materials like iron worth only  five
cents. Sometimes, even, an antique work of  art is  worth a  million while  the
material of which it is composed is not worth five cents. If such a work of art
is taken to the antiques market  and related  to a  brilliant and  accomplished
artist  of  former  times,  and  advertised by  mentioning the  artist and  the
inscribed art, it may be sold for a million dollars. Whereas if it is taken  to
a scrap metal dealer, it will be bought for the five cent's worth of iron.

  Similarly, man is such an antique work of art of Almighty Allah (SWT). He is
a most subtle and graceful miracle of  His power  whom He  created to  manifest
different aspects  of all  His Names  and their  inscriptions, in  the form  of
miniature specimen of the universe. If the light of iman enters his being,  all
the meaningful inscriptions on him may be read through that  light. A  believer
reads them consciously, and through the connection  [of iman],  uses others  to
read them. That is to say, the arts and embroideries of  Allah's Rabbani  Names
inscribed in man becomes apparent through meanings like, "I am the creature and
artefact  of  the  All-Glorious  Maker.  I  am  subjected  to  His  Mercy   and
Munificence." That is, iman, which consists of being connected to  All-Glorious
Allah who creates with art, makes apparent all the art works of Allah in man.  
Man's value gets  instituted in  accordance with  the arts  of Allah's  Rabbani
Names, and can be appreciated only as a mirror  to the  Eternally Besought  One
Who provides all the needs of His creation and  needs nothing  for Himself.  In
this respect insignificant man becomes superior to all other creatures as Allah
(SWT)'s  addressee  and  worthy  of  Paradise  as  a  guest  of the  Sustainer,
Administrator, and Owner of the universe.

  However, should kufur, which consists of the severance of that connection
enter man's being, then all those meaningful embroideries of Allah's Names  are
plunged into darkness and cannot be read. For  if Art-Maker  is forgotten,  the
spiritual aspect which looks to Allah will not be comprehended, they will be as
though  sank  downwards.  The  majority of  those meaningful  sublime arts  and
elevated embroideries will be hidden.  The remainder of those that may be  seen
with the eye will be attributed to lowly causes, nature, and  chance, and  will
fall utterly from value.  While each  is a  brilliant diamond,  each becomes  a
piece  of dull  glass. Any  significance becomes  limited only  to the  animal,
physical aspect.  As we said, the aim and fruit of the physical matter is  only
to pass a brief and partial life as the most impotent, needy,  and grieving  of
animals. Then it stinks and departs.  See, how  kufur destroys  the true  human
nature, and transforms it from being diamond-like to coal-like.
 
                               
SECOND POINT:
Just  as iman  is a  light which  illuminates man  and makes  legible all  the
letters of the Eternally Besought One written upon him, so too it  illuminates
the universe, and delivers  the past  and the  future from  darkness. I  shall
explain this  with a  comparison which  concerns one  of the  meanings of  the
verse:

                 Allah is the Protector of those who believe;
                  He leads them out of darkness into light. 
                              [the Qur'an 2:257]

  I saw in a vision an awesome bridge built between two high mountains
situated opposite one another. Beneath the bridge was a valley of great depth.
I was on the bridge. A dense darkness had enveloped every part of the world. I
looked to my right and saw a vast grave swathed  in an  unending dense  gloom,
that is, I imagined it. I looked to my left and as though  saw violent  storms
and calamities gathering amid terrifying waves of blackness. I looked  beneath
the bridge and imagined I saw a profound abyss. I had a dim torch in the  face
of this terrifying darkness. I used it and could see a little with its light. 
A most horrific situation appeared to me.  In fact, such awful dragons, lions,
and monsters  appeared around  me and  on the  bridge in  front of  me that  I
exclaimed: "Oh! This torch brings me only trouble!", and I angrily cast it  to
the  ground  and  broke  it.  Then  upon  smashing it,  the darkness  suddenly
dispersed as though I had turned on the switch for a huge  electric lamp  that
lit up the whole world. Everywhere was filled with the lamp's light. It showed
everything as it was in reality.

  I saw that the bridge I had seen was a highway through a plain passing over
even ground. The vast grave I had seen on my right I  realized consisted  from
top  to  bottom  of  beautiful, verdant  gardens and  gatherings for  worship,
service, conversation, and the remembrance of Allah (SWT) under the  direction
of luminous men. The precipices and peaks on my left which I  had imagined  to
be  tempestuous and  stormy I  now saw  fleetingly to  be a  vast, lovely  and
elevated place of feasting, recreation,  and enjoyment  behind mountains  that
were adorned and pleasant. And the creatures I  had thought  to be  terrifying
monsters and dragons I saw were familiar domestic animals like camels,  oxen,
sheep, and goats. Declaring,

               "All praise be to Allah for the light of iman,"

I recited the verse,

		"Allah is the Protector of those who believe;
                  He leads them out of darkness into light,"

and I awoke from my vision.

 The two mountains were the beginning and end of life; that is, this world and
the intermediate realm of the grave. The bridge was the road of  life. To  the
right was the past, and to the left, the future. As  for the  small torch,  it
was the human ego, which is egotistical, relies on what it knows, and does not
heed the heavenly revelation. The things imagined to be the monsters were  the
events and strange creatures of the world.

 Thus, one who relies on his ego, who falls into the darkness of the
heedlessness and is afflicted with the blackness of  misguidance resembles  my
first  state  in the  vision, which,  like with  the pocket-torch  and due  to
deficient and misguided knowledge, saw the past in the  form of  a huge  grave
amid darkness imbued with non-existence. It showed the future to  be a  stormy
place of  desolation bound  to coincidence,  and displayed  events and  beings
which are each submissive official of the One  All-Wise and  All-Compassionate
to be like monsters. Such a person as though manifests the verse,

                   And those who reject iman (faith, belief),
                their protectors are the arrogant (evil) ones;
                  they lead them out of light into darkness.
                              [the Qur'an 2:257]

 But, if such a man attains to Divine guidance and iman enters his heart, and
if the tyranny of his self-ego is smashed and he heeds Allah's  Book, he  will
resemble my second state in the vision. Then the universe  will suddenly  take
on the color of day and be filled with Divine Light. The world will recite the
verse,

               Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth.
                              [the Qur'an 24:35]
                              
  Then he will see with the eye of the heart that the past is not a vast
grave,  but  where  the groups  of purified  spirits who  each century  having
performed their duties of worship under the leadership of a  prophet or  saint
exclaim, "Allah is the Most Great!" at completing the duties  of their  lives,
and fly to elevated abodes, moving on to the past. He  will look  to the  left
and through the light of iman distinguish in the distance a feasting-place  of
the Most Merciful set up in palaces of bliss in the gardens of Paradise beyond
the mountainous revolutions of the intermediate realm and  the hereafter.  And
he will realize that the  storms and  earthquakes and  tempestuous events  are
each  submissive  officials,  and  understand  that  they  are  the means  for
instances of wisdom which though  apparently harsh  are in  fact most  gentle,
like  the  storms  and  rains  of  spring. He  will even  see death  to be  an
introduction to eternal life; and the grave, a door to everlasting  happiness.
You  can  deduce  further  aspects  for  yourself.  Apply the  reality to  the
comparison.    
 
                                
THIRD POINT:

Iman (Believing in Allah by affirming it) is both light and strength. Yes,  one
who obtains true iman may challenge the whole universe  and be  saved from  the
pressure of events in  accordance with  the strength  of his  iman. Saying,  "I
place my trust in Allah (SWT),"  he cruises  through the  mountainous waves  of
events on the ship of life on complete safety. He entrusts all  his burdens  to
the hands of power of the Absolutely Powerful One, passes through the world  on
ease, then rests in the intermediate realm. Later he may fly up to Paradise  in
order to  enter eternal  happiness. Otherwise,  if he  does not  rely on  Allah
(SWT), rather than flying, the burdens of the world will drag him  down to  the
lowest of the low.

  Overall iman necessitates affirmation of Oneness of Allah, affirmation of
Oneness of Allah necessitates submission to  Allah (SWT),  submission to  Allah
necessitates reliance  on Allah,  and reliance  on Allah  necessarily leads  to
happiness of the two worlds [here and the next].

  But do not misunderstand this: reliance on Allah is not to reject causes
altogether. Upon knowing that causes are put as a veil to the hand of Power [of
Allah] and obeying them accordingly, to attempt at the face of the causes is  a
sort of active prayer; it is to seek the end-effects only from Almighty  Allah,
recognize that  the end-results  are from  Him alone,  and to  be grateful  and
thankful to Him.

  Those who place their trust in Allah (SWT) and those who do not resemble the
two men in the following story:

  One time two men loaded heavy loads onto both their backs and heads, and
bought tickets, boarded a large ship. As soon as they boarded it,  one of  them
left his load on  the deck,  and guarded  it while  sitting on  it. The  other,
however, since he was both stupid and arrogant, didn't put down his load.  When
he  was  told:  "Leave your  heavy load  on the  deck and  be comfortable!"  He
replied: "No, I won't put it down, it might get lost. I am  strong, I'll  guard
my property by carrying it on  may back  and head."  He was  told again:  "This
reliable royal ship which is carrying you and us  is stronger,  it can  protect
them better than you. You might get dizzy and fall into the  sea together  with
your load. In any case you will gradually lose  your strength,  and by  degrees
those loads will get heavier. Your bent back and  mindless head  will not  have
the power to bear them. Moreover, if the  Captain sees  you in  this state,  he
will either expel you from  the ship  as a  madman, or  he will  think you  are
ungrateful, accusing our ship and jeering at us, and he  will order  you to  be
put into prison. Also you are making a fool of yourself in  front of  everyone.
For according to the perceptive you made yourself a laughingstock  in the  eyes
of  the  people  through  your  arrogance  displaying  weakness,  through  your
self-pride displaying impotence, and through your boasting displaying abasement
and pretense. Everyone is laughing at you!"

  Whereupon that wretched man came to his senses. He put down his load on the
deck and sat on it. He said to the other: "Oh! May Allah (SWT) be pleased  with
you. I've been saved from difficulty, prison, and buffoonery."

  And so, O man who does not place his trust in Allah (SWT)! You too, come to
your senses like that man  and place  your trust  in Him,  so that  you may  be
delivered from begging before the whole universe, trembling before every event,
baseless pride, buffoonery, complaining in the hereafter and the prison of  the
pressures of this world.


       FOURTH POINT:

      Iman (Believing in Allah SWT by affirming it) makes man into a true human 
being, indeed, it makes man into a king.  Since this is so, man's basic duty is 
iman  and supplication.  Kufur (concealing  the truth, unbelief) makes man into
an  extremely  impotent  violent  animal.   Out  of thousands of proofs of this 
matter,  the  differences  in  the  ways  animals  and  man come into the world 
constitute a clear indication and decisive proof.

    Yes, these differences in the coming of man and animals into the world show
that humanity becomes humanity through  iman. For  when animals  come into  the
world, they come perfected in accordance with their abilities as though  having
been trained in another world; that is they are sent  as such.  They learn  all
the conditions of their lives, their relationships with the  universe, and  the
laws  of  life  in  either two  hours or  two days  or two  months, and  become
proficient in them. Animals like sparrows and bees acquire in  twenty days  the
power to survive and proficiency in  their actions  that man  only acquires  in
twenty  years;  that  is,  they  are  inspired.  This means  that the  animals'
fundamental  duty  is  not to  be perfected  through learning  and progress  by
acquiring knowledge, nor to improve by acquiring  expertise, nor  to seek  help
and offer supplications through displaying  their weakness,  but in  accordance
with their [already given]  abilities to  work and  act. Their  duty is  active
worship.

   As for man, he needs to learn everything when he comes into the world; he is
ignorant of the laws of life, and cannot even learn  completely the  conditions
of life in twenty years. Indeed, he needs to go on learning till the end of his
life. Also he is sent to the world in a most weak  and impotent  form, and  can
only  rise to  his feet  in one  or two  years. Only  in fifteen  years can  he
distinguish between harm  and benefit,  and with  the help  of society  attract
things advantageous to him and avoid others that are harmful.  This means  that
man's innate duty is to progress through learning and to  proclaim his  worship
of Allah (SWT) and servitude to Him through supplication. That is to say, it is
to know [the answers of the questions]:

   [Note from the Narrator:  What is the fundamental duty of human beings 
compared to the animals and what is the difference between them?  If we (human
beings) are brought to this world to gain only our livelihood, why are we given
so many faculties in addition to what the animals do not posses and which are
not necessary to gain the livelihood?  I mean really; a bird is given her
livelihood in much better way than human beings are given.  When a bird 
wakes up in the morning she goes out and flies here and there and her 
sustenance is made ready everywhere.  As she gets pleasures from the things
she gets them fully, she does not have sarrows from the past and worries of 
the future because she is not given the mind faculty.  Therefore she gets full
pleasure out of her life.  So an animal is in a much better shape in terms of
obtaining the livelihood compared to a human being.  Therefore, there is a 
great purpose of the faculties given to the human beings.  If those faculties
like the heart(spiritiual), mind, conscience, mercy, love, patience, wanting,
and many more are misappropriated, then the life of this world would be 
miserable and too burdensome to carry.  All those faculties are meant to seek 
Allah SWT, to find Him, to know Him, to seek His Pleasure and to surrender 
and submit to Him.  If this is not done, all those faculties will be a tool
of destruction.  Because, a person is not like an animal, s/he feels sorrows 
and pains from the past and gets worries from the future beacuse of the mind 
faculty given to her/him.  That is why s/he cannot get full pleasure out of 
her life unless s/he finds Allah SWA.  Because the cessation of pleasures is
pain and sorrow unless the Sender of the pleasure is found.  If He is found, 
that pleasure (legal and licit pleasures with the limits traced out by Allah
SWT) gives eternal fruits.  Then they would turn into eternal pleasures.
Therefore, the duty and the purpose of human beings are to worship (to 
surrender and submit to Allah SWT and find peace and serenity in it, peace
with their Creator, peace with themselves, peace with their environment and
peace with the universe and everything in it {ISLAM})]      
 
"Through  whose  compassion  is my  life so  wisely administered  in this  way?
Through whose generosity am I so kindly raised, guided,  and educated?  Through
whose graciousness am I so delicately nurtured and controlled? It is to beseech
and  supplicate  the  Provider of  Needs through  the tongue  of impotence  and
poverty. It is to fly to the high  station of  worship and  servitude to  Allah
(SWT) on the wings of impotence and poverty.

 This means that man came to this world to progress by means of knowledge and
supplication. In regard to  his nature  and potential  faculties and  abilities
everything is tied to knowledge. Yet, the foundation, mine,  light, and  spirit
of all true knowledge is knowledge of Allah (SWT), and its ultimate essence and
basis is iman in  Allah (SWT).  Furthermore, since  man is  subject to  endless
tribulations  and  afflicted  with  innumerable enemies  despite his  boundless
impotence, and suffers from endless needs and has  innumerable desires  despite
his  boundless  poverty,  his  fundamental  innate  duty  is supplication  upon
acquiring iman. As for supplication, it is the basis of worship of Allah  (SWT)
and servitude to Him.

     For example, in order to secure a desire or wish he cannot obtain, a child
will either cry or ask for it, that is, he will supplicate  through the  tongue
of  his  impotence  either  actively  or verbally,  and will  be successful  in
securing it. In the same way, man is like a delicate petted whimsical child  in
the world of all living creatures. He has to either weep  at the  Court of  the
Most Merciful  and Compassionate  One through  his weakness  and impotence,  or
supplicate through his poverty and need, so  that the  things he  wants may  be
subjected  to  him.  He  should  also offer  thanks for  the bounties  granted.
Otherwise like a silly obstinate child who makes a fuss  over a  fly and  still
says:  "With  my own  strength I  subjugate things  which are  not possible  to
subjugate and overpower things a thousand times more powerful, and I make  them
obey me through my own ideas and measures,"  he would  display ingratitude  for
the bounties. And just as this is contrary to man's  innate nature,  so too  he
makes himself deserving of severe punishment. 

FIFTH POINT:

Belief necessitates supplication as a certain means of securing needs, and just
as human nature  has an  intense desire  for it,  so too  Almighty Allah  (SWT)
decrees,

      "Say, 'My Lord and Sustainer would not concern Himself with you 
 		        but for your supplication,"
                              		[the Qur'an 25:77]

which has the meaning of:

                         "What importance do you have
                          unless you appeal to Me?" 

He also commands:

                     "Appeal to Me and I will answer you."
                              [the Qur'an 40:60]

 If You Say: "We frequently supplicate and appeal to Allah (SWT), but they are
not accepted. But the verse is general, it  states that  every supplication  is
answered. 

 The Answer: Answering is one thing, accepting is something quite different.
Every supplication is answered, but accepting and giving exactly what is sought
depends on Almighty Allah's Wisdom. For example, if  a sick  child calls:  "Oh,
Doctor!  Look at me!" The doctor comes and  replies: "Here  I am,  what do  you
want?" The child says: "Give me that medicine!" The doctor will either give him
exactly what he asks for or something  better and  more beneficial  for him  in
accordance of his needs. Or knowing that  it is  harmful for  that illness,  he
would give nothing.

 Thus, since Almighty Allah is All-Present, Ever-Foreseeing and All-Seeing, He
responds  to  the  supplications  of  His  servants. Through  His presence  and
response, He  transforms the  desolation of  loneliness and  solitude into  the
security  of companionship.  But He  does this,  not in  accordance with  man's
capricious and importunate demands. Rather in accordance with the  requirements
of His  All-Penetrating and  All-Encompassing Wisdom.  He gives either what  is
sought or what is better, or does not give at all.

 Also, supplication is a form of ibada (worship) which is essentially the
affirmation and recognition of man's servitude to Allah (SWT) in all aspects of
life. The fruits or the  end results  of ibada  pertain to  the hereafter.  The
expected results pertaining to this world designate the times  of a  particular
sort of supplication and worship, and do  not constitute  their true  intention
and aim.

 For example, supplications for rain are a form of worship. Drought is the time
for such worship. The prayers and supplications of this sort are  not meant  to
bring rain. If they are performed with that intention alone they are not worthy
of acceptance, for they are not sincere and pure.

 Sunset is the time of the evening prayer, and the sun and moon eclipses are
the times of two particular prayers known as salat-i kusuf and salat-i  khusuf.
That is to say, with the veiling of the  two luminous  signs of  the night  and
day, Allah's Glory and Might is proclaimed, so  Allah the  Most High  in a  way
invites his servants to prayer and remembrance at those times.
              
Such prayers are not meant to bring the sun and moon  back (their  reappearance
and  how  long  the  eclipses  will  continue  have  anyway  been  reckoned  by
astronomers). In just the same way, drought  is the  time for  the prayers  for
rain.

 Similarly, the vanquish of calamities and infliction of harmful things are the
times of certain supplications so that man realizes his  impotence and  through
his supplication and appeal seeks refuge at the  Court of  Allah who  possesses
Absolute  Power.  Even  if  the  calamities   are  not   lifted  despite   many
supplications, it may not be said that they were not accepted. It should rather
be said that the time for the prayers  and supplications  is not  over yet.  If
through His Grace and Munificence Almighty Allah  removes the  calamity, it  is
light upon light, then the time for that supplication  is over  and done  with.
Thus,  supplication  has  the  meaning  of  ibada [which  is essentially  man's
acknowledging his servitude to Allah (SWT)].

 As for worship and servitude to Allah (SWT), it should be purely and sincerely
for Allah (SWT). One should only display incapability and weakness, and  refuge
with  Allah  through  supplication,  should  not  interfere  in  His   Absolute
Sovereignty, Administration, and Guidance, should leave  the measure-taking  to
Him and trust His Wisdom, and should not accuse His Mercy.
 
 Indeed, what is in reality established by the clear verses of the Qur'an is
that just as each and every being glorifies  the praises  of Allah  in its  own
peculiar way, and worships and prostrates  in its  own particular  act, so  too
what rises to the Court of Allah from all the universe is supplication.

 [There are many types of supplication.] One type is either through the tongue
of innate potential or ability like the supplication of all plants and  animals
by which each, through this tongue, request a form or a shape from the Absolute
Bestower and to display and manifest His Names. A  second type  is through  the
tongue  of innate  need. These  are the  supplications offered  by all  animate
beings for all their essential needs which are  beyond their  power to  obtain.
Through  this  tongue,  each  animate  being  seeks  certain  things  from  the
Absolutely  Generous  One  for  the continuance  of its  life, like  a sort  of
sustenance.  A  third  supplication  type is  through the  tongue of  exigency,
through which all beings with spirits  who find  themselves in  some plight  or
predicament make supplication in a definite  refuge with  an unseen  protector;
indeed, they turn to their All-Compassionate  Sustainer. These  three sorts  of
supplication are always accepted unless some obstacle exists.

 The fourth type of supplication is the most well-known one; it is our
supplication. This too is of two sorts: one is active and  by disposition,  and
the other, verbal and with the heart. For  example, having  recourse to  causes
and attempting them is an active prayer. The gathering together  of the  causes
is not in order to create the effect and the end result, but it is through  the
tongue of disposition to take up an acceptable position  in order  to seek  the
effects and results from Almighty Allah (SWT). To plough a field is to knock at
the door of the treasury of Mercy. Since this  sort of  active supplication  is
directed towards the Absolutely Generous One's Name and Title,  it is  accepted
in the great majority of cases.

 The second sort is to offer supplication with the tongue and heart. It is to
seek certain wishes which the hand cannot reach. The most important aspect, the
most beautiful aim, the sweetest fruit of this is the following:  "The one  who
offers the supplication understands that there is One Who hears  the wishes  of
his heart, Whose Hand can reach all things,  Who can  bring about  each of  his
desires, Who shows Mercy for his weakness, and cares for his poverty."

 And so, O weak man, and utterly needy humanity! Do not leave out of your hands
a means like supplication, which is the key to the treasury of Mercy and to  an
inexhaustible Power. Cling to it! Rise to the highest peaks of  humanity! As  a
king [of all created things], include in your  supplications those  of all  the
universe! As a servant and deputy representing all the universe, say 

                       "From You Alone Do We Seek Help,"
                               [the Qur'an 1:4]

and become the "most excellent pattern" of creation!

                           (end of the first chapter.)

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Perpared and submited by the Risale-i Nur Students of Madsion, WI.