The Seventeenth Flash

Moreover, the Qur’an’s manner of expression is extraordinarily fluent, eloquent, and natural. It is as though the Qur’an itself were a hāfizA person who has memorized the entire Qur’an. reciting what the pen of Allah’s power has inscribed upon the pages of the universe. It is as though the Qur’an were the recitation of the book of creation and the verbal expression of its order. It makes known the attributes and describes the acts of the Eternal Author of that book.

If you wish to witness the perfect fitness and eloquence of the Qur’an’s choice of words within their context, then listen with an attentive and awakened heart to surahsChapters of the Qur’an. such as Sūrat an-NabaThe 78th chapter of the Qur’an, consisting of 40 verses. Its name means “The Great News,” referring to the Resurrection and the Day of Judgment., or to verses such as:

قُلِ اللّٰهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِSay: O Allah, Owner of all sovereignty. — The Qur’an 3:26.

The Twelfth Note

O my friends who give heed to these Notes!

You should know that, although it is not my custom and although such matters ought normally to remain concealed, I sometimes write down the prayers and supplications that arise in my heart and that I address to my Lord. In this way, I hope that, by His grace, they may continue to be accepted when, after death has silenced my tongue, my book speaks in my place.

Indeed, the prayers I offer and the expressions of repentance I make during this brief life are not sufficient for the forgiveness of my countless sins. The enduring voice of a book, which in a sense continues to speak after its author has fallen silent, may assist me more greatly in this respect.

Thirteen years ago, before this treatise was written, I experienced a moment of awakening. The laughter of the Old SaidThe first major period in the life of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, during which he was actively involved in public affairs, education, and efforts to reform Muslim society. This period preceded his spiritual transformation into the “New Said,” when he devoted himself primarily to strengthening Islamic faith through the Risale-i Nur., which had once filled my spirit, was transformed, after a profound inner upheaval, into the weeping of the New SaidThe second major period in the life of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, during which he withdrew from political and public affairs and devoted himself to strengthening Islamic faith through spiritual reflection, Qur’anic teachings, and the writing of the Risale-i Nur.. Thus I awoke from the heedless sleep of youth in the morning of old age.

At that time, I recited an Arabic prayer and supplication, part of which may be rendered in English as follows:

O my Merciful Lord, O my Generous Creator!

Through the misuse of my will, my life and youth have been wasted. All that remained to me from that life and youth was a burden of painful sins, humiliating sufferings, and misleading doubts. Bearing this heavy burden, with a sick heart and a shamefaced countenance, I draw near to the grave.

I see that, like my deceased friends, contemporaries, and relatives, I too am being carried involuntarily toward the grave. The grave is the first station on the road to eternity and the gateway to everlasting life after our final departure from this transient abode.

I have understood with absolute certainty that this world, to which I am so attached and by which I am so captivated, was created and will pass away. It is transient and will perish, as will the creatures within it, which die and disappear one group after another.