Old Age: Consoling Hopes

All praise belongs to Allah, Who brought the madrasaAn Islamic educational institution where students study religious sciences such as the Qur’an, hadith, Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), and Arabic, sometimes alongside other subjects. of VanA city in eastern Turkey where Bediuzzaman Said Nursi lived and taught for many years before his exile to western Turkey. to life again through the madrasaAn Islamic educational institution where students study religious sciences such as the Qur’an, hadith, Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), and Arabic, sometimes alongside other subjects. of IspartaA city and province in southwestern Turkey, known for its rose cultivation and natural beauty. It holds particular significance in the life of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, who spent many years in the region during his exile, writing and spreading the Risale-i Nur with the help of his students., and Who likewise revived my former friends in a spiritual sense by granting me students and companions even more precious than those I had lost.

He also caused me to understand that the world is neither empty nor desolate, and that I had been mistaken in imagining it to be a place of ruins.

For, in accordance with His Divine wisdom, the True Owner replaces transient human beings and thereby continually renews, as it were, His living letter.

Just as a tree bears fresh fruit whenever its fruits are gathered, so too, among humanity, transience and separation are in reality occasions of renewal and replenishment.

Seen through the light of īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar)., separation is no longer the bitter anguish of what is imagined to be a final farewell. Rather, it becomes a tender sorrow: the sadness of a temporary parting, accompanied by the hope of reunion in a more beautiful abode.

Thus, through that overwhelming experience, He illuminated for me the seemingly dark face of creation.

Then, wishing to express my gratitude to Allah for this transformation, an Arabic expression came spontaneously to my mind, perfectly conveying this truth. I said:

اَلْحَمْدُ ِللّٰهِ عَلٰى نُورِ اْلاِيمَانِ الْمُصَوِّرِ مَا يُتَوَهَّمُ اَجَانِبَ اَعْدَاۤءً اَمْوَاتًا مُوَحِّشِينَ اَيْتَامًا بَاكِينَ، اَوِدَّاۤءَ اِخْوَانًا اَحْيَاۤءً مُونِسيِنَ مُرَخَّصِينَ مَسْرُورِينَ ذَاكِرِينَ مُسَبِّحِينَAll praise belongs to Allah for the light of faith, which transforms those imagined to be strangers, enemies, lifeless and frightening beings, and weeping orphans into beloved friends, brothers, living and comforting companions, joyful servants granted leave, who remember and glorify Allah.

In other words, through the heedlessness brought about by the force of that sorrowful experience, one part of creation had appeared to me as strangers and enemies, another as terrifying corpses, and yet another as orphans weeping in their desolation.

But through the light of īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar)., with the certainty of ayn al-yaqīnCertainty through direct sight; certainty of seeing., I now beheld them in their true nature.

Those who had appeared to be strangers and enemies were, in reality, friends and brothers. Those who had seemed to be terrifying dead beings were revealed, in part, as living and familiar companions, while others had merely been released from their duties.

And through the light of īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar)., I perceived that the cries of those seemingly desolate and weeping orphans were, in truth, exalted expressions of dhikrThe remembrance of Allah through the repeated recitation of a word or short phrase as an act of worship. and tasbīhThe glorification of Allah by declaring Him free from all imperfections..

Therefore, I offer endless thanks to the Exalted Creator, Who has bestowed upon me īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar)., the source of those infinite blessings.

Moreover, through the faculties with which I have been endowed, I am able, by means of my intention and imagination, to employ everything within my personal world—a world as vast as the world itself—in praising and glorifying Allah. Thus, together with all beings, in the language of their states, I proclaim:

اَلْحَمْدُ ِللّٰهِ عَلٰى نُورِ اْلاِيمَانِAll praise belongs to Allah for the light of faith.