Relying on your humanity and conscience, I am going to describe to you to some confidential matters. You are closely concerned with us by reason of your duty. This is proved by the fact that during the last twenty years none of the one hundred thousand Risale-i Nur students has been the cause of any incident, nor have any of numerous police recorded anything against us. I heard from a child that the chief of the Ankara police head- quarters had come here. I wrote some things down thinking that he would ask after me and that since I am indisposed, I would present it to him. Then I heard that he had left, so I am sending it to you with this letter. If you consider it appropriate, you may forward it to him for his information. I don't know about worldly affairs and I don't meet with people. Apart from you, I have no one here to consult with. For any matter concerning myself is very unimportant and minor, but those concerning the Risale-i Nur hold great importance for this country and nation.
I tell you with all certainty my firm conviction resulting from numerous signs that in the near future this country and nation and its government will have intense need for works like the Risale-i Nur, in the face of the Islamic world and the world as a whole. By means of it, they will demonstrate their existence, honour, esteem, and historical pride.
My Dear Loyal Brothers!
Ali Efendi, one of the Nur students from the village of Ali Köyü asks about a Qur'anic verse about the dissemblers. I don't have time at the moment to explain it at length, so am writing a couple of sentences briefly.
The verse, which states that the ritual prayers should not be performed for dissemblers when they die, refers to the dissemblers of that time who were known to be thus through divine revelation. It does not mean that the prayers cannot be performed for people who are merely said to be dissemblers or assumed to be. Anyone who pronounces "There is no god but God" is a Muslim (lit. people of the qibla). So long as they do not explicitly deny religion, or if they repent, the prayers may be performed for them. There are many Alevis in that village and some of them may be extreme (lit. Râfızî), but even the worst of them should not be said to be dissemblers. The dissembler has no belief, heart, or conscience. He opposes the Prophet (UWBP) like some atheists now. The extremist Alevis and Shi'is however, do not oppose the Prophet (UWBP); they rather nurture excessive love for his family. They go to extremes in the face of the dissemblers' neglect. When they exceed the bounds of the Shari'a they become not dissemblers but innovators; they become sinners, not disbelievers. It is enough that they do not attack Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman, whom 'Ali (May be God be pleased with him) held in respect for twenty years and accepted their rule when they held the position of Shaykh al-Islam, and that they hold those three Caliphs in respect as he did, and perform the obligatory prayers.
Moreover, since through the testimony of al-Jaljalutiyya, the Risale-i Nur student's foremost master after the Prophet Muhammad (UWBP) is Imam 'Ali (May God be pleased with him), if the Shi'is and Alevis who claim to love him do not heed the lessons of the Risale-i Nur more than the Sunnis do, their claim to love the Prophet's family is false. Anyway, I heard several years ago that through the efforts of three Alis in that Alevi village, innocent children were writing out the Risale-i Nur and spreading it. I even included the village in my prayers at that time. God willing, through the efforts of our brother Ali, who wants to be Imam there, and the endeavours of brothers like Küçük Ali, the heir of the late Hâfız Ali, my supplications for them will not be in vain, and the two groups in the village, the Sunnis and Alevis, will unite.
Don't worry about the humiliating incident recently; it fizzled out and their plans came to nothing. The man involved is now denying everything in order to save himself from public opprobrium. I didn't know it was him, otherwise I wouldn't have said anything. He stretched out his hand and removed the kerchief from my head, He found the courage to insult me like that because he had heard that some high-ranking officials had come here from Ankara. The officials did come here but the governor did not allow me to speak with them, since he is from Rumelia. So for my part, in order to send him via the Afyon police chief the piece addressing him that I had sent to you, I posted it with the attached note to the Afyon police headquarters. I am not in any way upset about this. Anyway, it is no longer important. So don't you be anxious. Also, I saw clearly that as always, divine determining had transformed their injustice into a significant instance of mercy, and I offered thanks.
I received your letters yesterday while awaiting the trusts you were going to send me after the festival. I saw the words: "If there's no indication to the contrary, we shall send them in ten days' time." Evidently, you were worried so did not send them. There's nothing to be anxious about. But it was a fine example of involuntary caution not sending them when those high-ranking officials were here, and their not arriving.
I received Salâhaddin's very lengthy letter which pleased me as much as ten letters and showed how these storms had not affected his loyalty and steadfastness, and that he was ever like an Abdurrahman, and that our brothers in that region work tirelessly, and I exclaimed: "Ma'shallah!" Father and son are unshakeable like the Isparta heroes. However, since the Risale-i Nur is now being printed and published, true sincerity, powerful mutual support, and disregard of one another's faults are essential, and our brothers in Kastamonu province have to resemble those of Isparta in sincerity and solidarity. God willing, they will not allow their personal feelings to harm this sacred service either.
Also, it is true that the Risale-i Nur has won its freedom with its shining, powerful truths and has defeated its enemies in one respect, but we need to be even more cautious than before. For dissembling enemies unceasingly seek pretexts and try to deceive the government.
Salâhaddin asks about a personal matter and wants to attach himself to worldly social life. But he is one of the select Nur students so he should in no way attach himself if it causes harm to the work of the Risale-i Nur. He
may do if he knows that that his life-companion will work and assist him in the Risale-i Nur's service like those of some of our select brothers. For their lives belong to the Risale-i Nur and they may marry if approved by students representing its collective personality. God willing, it will cause no harm and his parents are in favour of it.
My Dear, Loyal Brothers!
Don't worry, there's nothing to be anxious about! Only, before the Ankara police chief and some high-ranking officials came here after the festival as though they were secretly concerned with me in some way, an officer assaulted me lightly taking courage from their visit. But they regretted it afterwards. And there was no cause to worry after the officials' visit. I reckon the matter affected my brothers to an extent and Feyzi was bothered somewhat. I'm curious, on what pretext did they search him? What were they looking for? What was it all about? What could they have been searching for when after two years of investigations three courts have returned all our books and letters without exception and they have understood that we have no connection with the politics of this world? Perhaps these illegalities are being perpetrated in the name of the law due to some private jealousy or grudge or due to the incitement of covert atheists. In the face of all this, total steadfastness and solidarity are necessary and to be in no way shaken or perturbed.
My Dear, Loyal Brothers!
We met only briefly in the mosque; I have a few important things to say, for you to bear in mind.
Firstly: I send my greetings to our valuable brothers, the sincere friends of Sabri, who has performed a hundred years of duties in ten years in Bedre, like Hakkı, Hulûsi, (P), Mehmed, and Şamlı Süleyman and Bahri in Barla.
Secondly: The duty blessed Mustafa, Küçük Ali's elder brother, has inherited from Abdurrahman, he is carrying out to the letter together with his son. His work and service are being perpetuated, so he shouldn't worry. The luminous seeds Hâfız Mustafa sowed together with the late Hâfız Ali
at that time are yielding abundant blessed produce. And the services he performed for me in prison after Hâfız Ali died always recall him to me. Abdullah Çavuş, an important heir of the late Lütfi, together with the heroic Tahirî have made Atabey resemble my village of Nurs. İslamköylü Abdullah performed many services for the Risale-i Nur when Hâfız Ali was alive. I send my greetings to all of them. I offer prayers for the blessed people of Tahirî's household, which is like a small Nur School. I send greetings too to İslâmköylü Halil İbrahim, who is like a fresh sample of Hâfız Ali and calls to mind the loyalty of Milaslı Halil İbrahim, and to the brothers there who resemble him. Also, tell Rüştü's heroic brother in Isparta, Burhan, that he has greatly pleased us and has performed much work for the Risale-i Nur with little. I did tell you that, so don't forget. And go and see Zekâî and say that I offer thanks to Almighty God that He has returned my nephew Abdurrahman to me in the form and name of Zekâî. You know the other things I told you verbally, for you are my letter.
My Dear, Loyal Brothers!
I was indeed happy at your letters, this time cheerful, about the Risale-i Nur's being unrestricted and spreading by means of the printing press; nevertheless, heroic Tahirî's coming here to work at this important matter caused me to look to the world. I said to myself: "Since my brothers want this so much, we'll search for a solution." Then at night, it occurred to my heart that for two significant reasons divine providence does not permit its complete freedom and its being printed in the old letters in its entirety.
The First Reason: As Imam 'Ali (May God be pleased with him) indicated, it is a valuable act of worship for eager people to spread the lights of belief secretly by writing out copies with their own pens and to get others to write; it is like performing jihad with ink, which in the next world will weigh equally to the blood of martyrs. If the works are printed, those people will not strive with the same eagerness and they will miss out on performing the service of disseminating those works.
The Second Reason: An essential duty of the Risale-i Nur is preserving the Arabic alphabet, which is the script of the vast majority of the Islamic world; if it is printed and published, its treatises will be mostly printed in the new letters, which is all most people know now. This will constitute a fatwa for the reproduction of the Risale-i Nur in the new letters and cause its students to prefer the easier script, For this reason, until now it has not
been left completely free, although it deserves it and is worthy of it. Thanks be to God, it has won its freedom through the power of its truths. Even, although it is prohibited to print in the old letters, it had Âyetü'l- Kübrâ (The Supreme Sign) handed over to us, and displayed a mighty instance of wonder-working.
Now, I have sent The Fruits of Belief and The Conclusive Proof (Hüccetü'l-Bâliğa) to Istanbul with Tahirî to print in the new letters, for they are both very important and necessary for everyone. Only, I did not have time to correct the Tenth and Eleventh Topics so gave them to him without doing so. If it is to be printed, you correct those two topics fully and return them to him. Both treatises must also be printed in the old letters either at home or abroad, openly or secretly, or in Istanbul or elsewhere.
We also need to try to have printed in the old letters in a single volume as far as means allow, The Miracles of the Qur'an (Mu'cizat-ı Kur'aniye) and its appendices and The Miracles of Muhammad UWBP (Mu'cizat-ı Ahmediye) and its appendices, either in Istanbul or elsewhere. This should be preliminary to printing Hizbu'n-Nuriye and Hizbu'l-Kur'an in the old letters so as to preserve the visible miracle of the coincidences (tevâfuk) in the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition. It is imperative that this sacred matter be undertaken with caution, deliberation, and mutual consultation.
I pray for the peace and well-being of each and every one of my brothers, and offer endless thanks to Almighty God that Kâtib Osman and Halil İbrahim, two of the oldest students, persist unshaken and unchanging in their steadfast loyalty, providing a fine example for many others.