The Thirteenth Flash (13.Lema, Englisch)

The Thirteenth Flash

This explains the meaning of the phrase, I seek refuge with God from Satan the Accursed.

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

And say: O My Sustainer, I seek refuge with You from the whisperings of the Evil Ones, * and I seek refuge with you, my Sustainer, lest they should come near me.

[This is about seeking refuge with God from Satan. Thirteen Indications will be written. Some of the Indications have been explained and proved in various places in the Twenty-Sixth Word and other parts of the Risale-i Nur so here will be discussed only briefly.]

FIRST INDICATION

Q u e s t i o n : Although evil spirits do not interfere in the universe in any way in regard to creation, and through His mercy and favour Almighty God takes the part of the people of truth, and the attractive beauties and virtues of truth and reality strengthen and encourage the people of truth, and the repulsive ugliness of misguidance revolts the people of misguidance, what is the reason for Satan’s party very often gaining the upper hand; what is the wisdom in it? And what is the reason for the people of truth always seeking refuge with God from Satan’s evil?

T h e A n s w e r : The wisdom and purpose is this: for the most part, misguidance and evil are negative, destructive, and pertain to non-existence. While in the great majority of cases, guidance and good are positive, constructive, repairing, and pertain to existence. Everyone knows that one man can destroy in one day a building made by twenty men in twenty days. Yes, although human life continues through the existence of all the basic members and conditions of life, and is particular to the All-Glorious Creator’s power, through severing a member, a tyrant may make the person manifest death, which is non-being in relation to life. The saying “Destruction is easy” has for this reason become proverbial.

It is because of this that the people of misguidance sometimes triumph over the people of truth who are most powerful with what is in reality a weak force. But the people of truth possess a stronghold so unassaillable that when they take refuge in it, those fearsome enemies cannot draw close; they can do nothing. If they cause some temporary harm, according to the verse,

And the end is [best] for the righteous,

everlasting reward and profit make up for the damage. And that impregnable stronghold, that fortified citadel, is the Shari’a of Muhammed (PBUH) and his Practices.

SECOND INDICATION

Q u e s t i o n : The creation of devils, who are pure evil, and their harassing the people of belief, and many people not believing and going to Hell because of them, appears to be terrible and ugly. How does the mercy and beauty of the Absolutely Beauteous One, the Absolutely Compassionate One, the Truly Merciful One, permit this infinite ugliness and awesome calamity? Many people have asked about this question, and it occurs to many people.

T h e A n s w e r : In addition to the minor evils, there are numerous universal good purposes in the existence of Satan, and human attainments and perfections. Yes, however many degrees there are from a seed to a huge tree, the abilities lodged in human nature are more numerous. There are degrees from a minute particle to the sun. For these abilities and potentialities to develop, action is required, a transaction is necessary. The action of the mechanism of progress in such a transaction is brought about through striving. And striving occurs through the existence of evil spirits and harmful things. Otherwise man’s station would have been constant like that of the angels. There would have been no classes in human kind, which resembles thousands of species. And it is contrary to wisdom and justice to abandon a thousand instances of good so as to avoid one minor evil.

For sure the majority of people embrace misguidance due to Satan, but importance and value look mostly to quality; they look to quantity little or not at all. If someone has a thousand and ten seeds which he buries, and under the earth the seeds undergo a chemical reaction as a result of which ten become trees and a thousand rot, the profit the man receives from the ten seeds which have become trees certainly reduces to nothing the loss he suffers from the thousand rotted ones. In exactly the same way, through the struggle against the soul and Satan, the profit, honour, enlightenment, and value for human kind gained by ten perfect men, who are like stars, certainly reduce to nothing the harm caused to mankind through the people of misguidance embracing unbelief, who are so base as to be thought of as vermin. Since this is so, Divine mercy, wisdom, and justice have permitted the existence of Satan, and allowed him to molest men.

O people of belief! Your armour against this awesome enemy is the fear of God fashioned on the workbench of the Qur’an. And your shield is the Practices of the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace). And your weapon, seeking refuge with God from Satan, and seeking forgiveness, and taking refuge in Divine protection.

THIRD INDICATION

Q u e s t i o n : The very great complaints and massing of forces against the people of misguidance in the All-Wise Qur’an does not appear to the reason to be conformable with its equitable and apt eloquence and the congruence and moderation of its style. It is quite simply as though it is mustering armies against a single man. And it threatens him on account of one minor action as though he had committed thousands of crimes. And it affords him a position and complains about him as though he was an aggressive partner, despite his being bankrupt and having no share of the property. What is the reason for this and the wisdom in it?

T h e A n s w e r : The reason and wisdom in it is this: because the evil spirits and those who follow them take the path of misguidance, they can cause great destruction with a small act, and they can violate the rights of many creatures and cause much harm with a small deed.

For example, through some small action or neglecting a small duty, a man on the large merchant ship of a king can be the cause of all the efforts of those employed on the ship and all the fruits of their labour being lost and going for nothing. The illustrious owner of the ship therefore complains about and threatens the rebellious man in awesome fashion on account of all his subjects who are connected with the ship. And he inflicts a terrible punishment on him, taking into account not his insignificant action but its dreadful results, not in his own name but in that of the rights of his subjects.

In exactly the same way, through their apparently insignificant mistakes and sins, the people of misguidance, Satan’s party, who are on the ship of the earth together with the people of guidance, transgress against the rights of numerous creatures and nullify the results of their elevated duties. The Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity’s awesome threats and complaints about them, therefore, and His mobilization of forces against them are pure wisdom within perfect eloquence, and are most apt and appropriate. And it is in conformity with the requirements of the situation, which is the definition of eloquence and its basis. And it is free of exaggeration, which is wastefulness in words.

It is clear that the state of one who does not take refuge in a secure stronghold in the face of terrible enemies who wreak much destruction with little action, will be wretched. And so, O people of belief! That heavenly stronghold of steel is the Qur’an. Enter it and be saved!

FOURTH INDICATION

Investigative scholars and the people of illumination have agreed that non-existence is pure evil and existence, pure good. Yes, in the great majority of cases, good, virtues, and perfections are based on existence and are related to it. Even if they are superficially negative and hint of non-existence, their basis is in existence and pertains to it. While the basis and leaven of all ugliness, like misguidance, evil, calamities, and sins, is non-existence and denial. Their badness and ugliness arise from non-existence. Even if they appear superficially to be positive and pertaining to existence, at basis they are non-existence and denial.

Also, observedly, the existence of something like a building is established through the existence of all its parts. While its destruction, non-existence, and annihilation occurs through the non-being of one of its main parts. Furthermore, existence requires an existent cause, it is based on a cause which has an actual reality. Whereas non-existence may be based on things which pertain to non-existence. Such things may be the cause of something non-existent.

It is as a consequence of this rule that despite the awesome destruction in the universe of devils from among jinn and men, and the varieties of unbelief, misguidance, evil, and destruction they perpetrate, just as they do not interfere one iota in creation, so too they can have no share in Divine sovereignty. And they do not carry out those works through any power or ability; rather than power and action in many of the things they do, it is neglect and abstaining from action. They commit evils through not allowing good to be done, that is, they become evil. For since bad and evil are a sort of destruction, their causes do not have to be an existent power and active creativity. Rather, vast destruction comes about through one command pertaining to non-existence and one condition being spoilt.

It is because the Zoroastrians did not develop this mystery that they believed that there was a creator of good in the universe, called Yazdan, and a creator of evil, called Ahriman. However, the imaginary god of evil they called Ahriman was Satan, who causes evil through the power of choice and the power to act, which possess no ability to create.

And so, O people of belief! Your most effective weapon and equipment for repairs in the face of this awesome destruction of Satan is seeking forgiveness from God, and through saying, “I seek refuge with God,” to have recourse to Him. And your stronghold is the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH).

FIFTH INDICATION

Together with pointing out to mankind in the revealed scriptures great rewards like Paradise and terrible punishments like Hell, Almighty God gives guidance, and many admonishments and reminders, and threats and encouragement. Despite there being so many means guiding them to the straight path, the people of belief are defeated in the face of the feeble, repellent stratagems of Satan’s party, which are without merit. At one time this caused me much thought. How is it, I wondered, that while they believe, they pay no attention to Almighty God’s severe threats? Why is belief not sufficient? According to the verse,

Feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan,

they are carried away by Satan’s baseless wiles, and rebel against God. Some of my own friends, even, although they sincerely affirmed the teachings about reality they had received from me a hundred times and had an excessively good opinion of me and relations with me, they were carried away by the unimportant and hypocritical compliments of a corrupt person, and assumed a position in favour of him and against me. “Glory be to God!,” I exclaimed, “can man fall so low? What a false man he was.” I slandered the man and committed a sin.

Later, the reality explained in the previous Indications became clear and illuminated many obscure points. Thanks be to God, through its light I understood both that the All-Wise Qur’an’s powerful encouragement and assurances are completely in place, and that the people of belief being deceived by Satanic machinations is not due to lack of belief or weakness of belief. I understood too that one who commits grievous sins does not become an unbeliever, and that the Mu’tazilites and some Kharijite sects are in error by stating that “Someone who commits a grievous sin either becomes an unbeliever or is in a state between belief and unbelief,” and that that unfortunate friend of mine sacrificing a hundred lessons in reality to win the attentions of such a scoundrel was not despicable abasement and degeneration; I thanked Almighty God and was saved from the abyss. Because as I said before, through some insignificant matter pertaining to non-existence, Satan throws man into serious peril. Moreover, man’s soul always listens to Satan. And his powers of anger and animal appetites are like both receivers and transmitters of Satan’s whisperings.

It is because of this that Almighty God’s Names like Oft-Forgiving and All-Compassionate are turned to the people of belief with a maximum manifestation. And He shows in the All-Wise Qur’an that His greatest bounty to the prophets is forgiveness and calls on them to seek forgiveness. Through repeating the blessed words, In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate at the start of every Sura and ordering it to be recited at the commencement of all good works, He shows that His all-encompassing mercy embraces the universe and is a stronghold and place of refuge. And through the command, Seek refuge with God, He makes a shield of the phrase, I seek refuge with God from Satan the Accursed.

SIXTH INDICATION

One of the most dangerous stratagems of Satan is this: he makes certain sensitive and ingenuous people confuse imagining unbelief with affirming it. He shows the imagining of misguidance to be the affirmation of it. He also conjures up in their imaginations most ugly thoughts about holy individuals and sacred things. He shows also things which are essentially possible together with those that are reasonably possible, thus making those things appear to be doubts opposed to the certainty of belief. So then the wretched sensitive man supposes that he has fallen into misguidance and unbelief, and that his certainty of belief has been lost; he falls into despair and becomes the plaything of Satan. Satan works both his despair, and that weak vein of his, and his confusion, so that he either goes mad, or saying: “All is lost,” he embraces misguidance. We have explained in some parts of the Risale-i Nur just how lacking in substance are these stratagems of Satan, so here we shall discuss them only briefly, as follows:

Like a snake’s image in a mirror cannot bite, nor the similitude of fire burn, nor the reflection of filth soil, neither can the reflections of unbelief and association of partners with God, and the shadows of misguidance, and the imaginings of ugly abuse and words in the mirror of the imagination or of thought corrupt belief, change faith, or damage respectful courtesy. For the well-known rule is, “In the same way that to imagine abuse is not abuse, to imagine unbelief is not unbelief and to conceive of misguidance is not misguidance.”

As for the question of doubts in belief, possibilities that are essentially possible are not opposed to the certainty of belief and do not harm it. One of the established rules of the science of the principles of religion is that “something which is of itself possible is not opposed to the certainty afforded by knowledge.” For example, we are certain that Barla Lake is in its place consisting of water. Whereas it is of itself possible that the lake sank into the ground this moment. Its so sinking is within the bounds of possibility. But since this essential possibility does not arise from any indication, it cannot be a reasonable possibility and so cause doubt. For another established rule of the principles of religion is “A possibility that does not arise from any proof or evidence is of no importance.” That is, “An essential possibility which does not arise from any sign cannot be a reasonable possibility and so cause doubts and warrant importance.”

Thus, the unfortunate man exposed to those Satanic whisperings supposes that due to such essential possibilities that he has lost his certain belief in the truths of belief. For example, numerous essential possibilites about the human aspects of the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) occur to him which cause no harm to the certainty of his belief, but he supposes that they have done so, and suffers harm.

Also, sometimes Satan suggests bad things about Almighty God in the form of whisperings imparted to the heart. The man trembles, supposing that his heart is corrupted so that it says such things. But his fear and trembling and lack of consent shows that those words did not come from his heart; they rather came from Satanic whisperings, and were imparted and caused to be imagined by Satan.

Also, among man’s subtle faculties are one or two that I have been unable to specify; these do not heed the will and power of choice; indeed, they may not be held responsible. Sometimes they govern, do not listen to the truth, and enter upon wrong things. Then Satan whispers to the man: “Your capacity is not conformable with truth and belief, so you involuntarily start doing those things which are false and vain. That means your fate has condemned you to perdition.” The wretched man falls into despair and perishes.

And so, the believer’s stronghold in the face of the former stratagems of Satan are the truths of belief and incontestable matters of the Qur’an, the limits of which have been defined by the principles of the purified exacting scholars. And in the face of the latter stratagems, the believer’s stronghold is to seek refuge with God and to attach no importance to them. For the more importance is given them, the more it attracts attention to them, and they grow and swell. The believer’s antidote and remedy for such spiritual wounds is following the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH).

SEVENTH INDICATION

Q u e s t i o n : The Mu’tazilite authorities considered the creation of evil to be evil, and therefore did not attribute the creation of unbelief and misguidance to God, as if by so doing they were exonerating God. They misguidedly said: “Man is the creator of his own actions.” They also said: “A believer who commits a grievous sin loses his belief, for believing in God and affirming Hell is not compatible with committing such sins. Through fear at an insignificant prison sentence in this world, a man restrains himself from doing anything contrary to the law. So if he commits big sins which mean disregarding Divine wrath, it certainly points to his lack of belief.”

T h e A n s w e r to the first part of the question: as is elucidated in the treatise on Divine Determining, the creation of evil is not evil; it is rather the inclination to do evil that is evil. For creation and bringing into being look to all the results. Since the existence of one instance of evil is the introduction to numerous good results, with regard to those results, the creation of the evil becomes good, and is like good. For example, fire has a hundred good results, but certain people who through their own desire for wrong make the fire evil for themselves, cannot say that the creation of evil is evil. In the same way, the creation of devils has numerous wise results like human progress; so if a person is defeated by Satan due to his desire for wrong and mistaken inclinations, he cannot say that the creation of Satan is evil. For he did evil to himself due to his own inclination.

Yes, since the inclination is a particular relation, it has a particular evil result, and becomes evil. But since creation looks to all the results, the creation of evil is not evil, indeed it is good. Because the Mu’tazilites did not understand this mystery, they said: “The creation of evil is evil, and the creation of bad, bad.” And in order to declare Almighty God free of all fault, they did not ascribe the creation of evil to Him; they fell into misguidance, wrongly interpreting the pillar of ‘belief in Divine Determining, both the good of it and the evil of it are from God.’

T h e A n s w e r to the second part of the question “How can someone who commits grievous sins remain a believer?”: Firstly, their error has been understood clearly in the previous Indications so that there is no need to repeat it. Secondly, just as the man’s evil-commanding soul prefers an ounce of immediate, present pleasure to a ton of postponed, hidden pleasure, so too he shrinks at the fear of an immediate slap more than at a year’s torment in the future. Furthermore, if the emotions are dominant in a person, they do not heed the reasoning of the mind. Desires and delusions govern and he prefers the slightest and least significant present pleasure to huge reward in the future. And he flinches from some minor present distress more than from some terrible postponed torment. For desire, illusions, and emotions do not see the future, indeed, they deny it. And if the soul assists them, the heart, which is the seat of belief, and the mind, fall silent and are defeated. In which case, committing grievous sins does not arise from lack of belief, but from the defeat of the heart and mind through the predomination of emotion, desire, and illusion.

Moreover, as is understood from the previous Indications, the way of the passions and of evil is destruction and therefore extremely easy. Satans from among jinn and men quickly drive people down that road. It is an astonishing situation, for according to Hadith, a light to the extent of a fly’s wing from the World of Eternity is comparable with the pleasure and bounties a person receives in his entire life in this world, yet following Satan, certain unfortunates prefer the pleasures of this fleeting world, which are the equivalent of a fly’s wing, to the pleasures of that eternal world, which are worth all this world.

It is for these reasons that the All-Wise Qur’an repeatedly and insistently, and with encouragement and threats, restrains believers from sin and urges them to do good.

One time this severe guidance of the All-Wise Qur’an gave me the idea that these continual warnings and reminders show believers to be inconstant and deficient in good. It infers a state not in keeping with man’s honour. For while a single order received from his superior is sufficient for an official to obey, if the superior repeats the same order ten times, the official will be seriously offended. He will say: “You are accusing me. I am not disloyal.” However, the All-Wise Qur’an insistently repeats the same order to the most sincere believers.

At the time this idea was worrying my brain, I had two or three loyal friends. I frequently used to warn and remind them, so that they would not be deceived by the machinations of satanic humans. They were not offended at me, saying I was accusing them. However I used to say to myself: “I am offending them with these continual admonitions. I am accusing them of disloyalty and inconstancy.” Then suddenly the truth explained and proved in the above Indications was unfolded. I understood that the All-Wise Qur’an’s insistence and repetitions were apt and exactly as required by the situation, and wise and not excessive or accusing; they were pure wisdom and pure eloquence. And I understood also the reason those loyal friends of mine were not offended. A summary of the truth is this:

Since evil spirits provoke people in respect of destruction, they commit much evil with few actions. Those who take the path of truth and guidance, therefore, are in need of much caution and great care and repeated warnings and various assistance. It is for this reason that Almighty God offers assistance to the people of belief through His thousand and one Names in respect of those repetitions, and stretches out thousands of hands of compassion to help them. He does not destroy their honour, but protects it. He does not lower man’s value, but shows Satan’s evil to be great.

And so, O people of truth and people of guidance! The way to be saved from the above-mentioned wiles of satanic jinn and men is this: make your headquarters the school of the people of the truth, the Sunnis or Ahl-i Sunna wa’l-Jama’at; enter the stronghold of the incontestable matters of the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition; and take the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH) as your guide, and find salvation!

EIGHTH INDICATION

Q u e s t i o n : You have proved in the above Indications that since the way of misguidance is easy, and is destruction and aggression, many take that way. Whereas in other parts of the Risale-i Nur you have proved decisively that the way of unbelief and misguidance is so fraught with difficulties and problems that no one should take it; that it is not possible to follow it. And you have proved that the way of belief and guidance is so easy and clear that everyone should take it.

T h e A n s w e r : There are two sorts of unbelief and misguidance. One pertains to actions and secondary matters, and is also denial and rejection of the matters of belief. This kind is misguidance is easy. It is a non-acceptance of the truth, an abdication, non-existence, and the absence of acceptance. Thus, in the Risale-i Nur, this sort has been shown to be easy.

As for the second sort, it pertains not to actions and secondary matters, but is a judgement of the mind and pertains to belief. It does not only deny belief, but opens up a way that is the opposite of it. It is the acceptance of what is false and invalid, the proof of the reverse of truth. This is not only the denial and refutation of belief, it is its opposite. It is not non-acceptance so that it should be easy, but the acceptance of non-being, and can only be accepted through proving non-existence. In accordance with the rule “Non-existence cannot be proved,” it is certainly not easy to prove it.

Thus, the unbelief and misguidance shown in other parts of the Risale-i Nur to be so difficult and problematic as to be impossible is this sort. Anyone with even a grain of intelligence would not take this way. Moreover, as is demonstrated, this way contains such grievous pains and suffocating darkness that anyone reasonable to the tiniest degree would not follow it.

I f i t i s s a i d : If this way is so grievous, dark, and difficult, why do most people take it?

T h e A n s w e r : They have fallen into it and cannot extricate themselves. And because the animal and vegetable powers in man do not see the consequences and do not think of them, and come to dominate man’s subtle faculties, they do not want to extricate themselves, and console themselves with present and temporary pleasure.

Q u e s t i o n : If it is asked: there is such dreadful suffering and fear in misguidance, it is not receiving pleasure from life, the unbeliever should not be able to live even. He should be crushed by the pain and be absolutely terrified. For although by reason of his humanity he desires innumerable things and loves life, due to unbelief, he constantly sees before him death as eternal extinction and everlasting separation, and the passing of beings and deaths of his friends and those he loves as annihilation and eternal parting, so how can such a man live? How can he receive pleasure from life?

T h e A n s w e r : He deceives himself through an extraordinary sophistry of Satan’s, and lives. He supposes he receives a superficial pleasure. We shall allude to the true nature of this through a well-known comparison.

It is related that they said to the ostrich: “You’ve got wings, so fly!” But it folded its wings and said: “I’m a camel,” and did not fly. So it fell into the hunter’s trap, and not wanting the hunter to see it, stuck its head in the sand. However, it left its huge body in the open and was the target of the hunter. They later said to it: “Since you say you’re a camel, carry loads.” Whereupon it opened its wings and said: “I’m a bird,” and was saved from the hardship of carrying loads. But having neither protector nor food, it was pursued by the hunters.

In exactly the same way, the unbeliever gave up absolute unbelief in the face of the Qur’an’s heavenly proclamations and descended to scepticism. If he is asked: “You think death is eternal extinction. How can a person live when he perpetually sees before him the gallows on which he is to be hanged? What pleasure can he receive?” Due to the portion he has received from the Qur’an’s universal mercy and all-encompassing light, the man replies: “Death is not extinction; there is a possibility of immortality.” Or else he plunges his head in the sand of heedlessness like the ostrich so that the appointed hour will not spot him and the grave will not watch him and the transience of things will not let fly their arrows at him!

I n S h o r t : When like the ostrich he sees death and decline to be extinction, due to his scepticism, the certain news of the Qur’an and revealed scriptures concerning ‘belief in the Hereafter’ afford him a possibility. The unbeliever clasps onto the possibility and is not subjected to that ghastly pain. If it is then said to him: “Since one will go to an everlasting realm, for a good life there, one has to suffer the difficulties of the religious obligations here,” due to his scepticism, the man says: “Perhaps there is no such world, so why should I work for something that does not exist?” That is to say, because of the possibility of immortality afforded by that decree of the Qur’an, he is saved from the pain of eternal extinction, and because of the possibility of non-existence afforded by scepticism, he is faced with the hardship of religious obligations; he clings onto the possibility of unbelief and is saved from the hardship. That is to say, from this point of view, he supposes he receives more pleasure from this life than the believers, for due to the possibility afforded by unbelief he is saved from the hardship of the religious obligations, and due to the possibility afforded by belief, he does not expose himself to everlasting pains. However, this satanic sophistry is extremely superficial, temporary, and without benefit.

Thus, the All-Wise Qur’an has a sort of manifestation of mercy in respect of the unbelievers also which saves to a degree their lives in this world from being Hell; it induces doubt in them, so they live through doubt. Otherwise they would have suffered the torments of a sort of Hell in this world too, recalling the Hell of the Hereafter, and they would have been compelled to commit suicide.

And so, O people of belief! Fully confident and with belief enter under the protection of the Qur’an, which will save you from eternal extinction and the Hells of this world and the Hereafter. And submissively and appreciatively remain within the bounds of the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH). Then you will be saved from both misery in this world and torment in the Hereafter!

NINTH INDICATION

Q u e s t i o n : Why is it that the people of guidance, who are God’s party, are so often defeated by the people of misguidance, who are Satan’s party, despite the Glory of the World (Upon whom be blessings and peace) being at their head and their receiving so much Divine mercy and assistance and so many favours? What was the reason for the dissemblers of Medina insisting on misguidance and their not embracing guidance, despite being close to the brilliant sun-like prophethood and messengerhood of the Seal of the Prophets and the Qur’anic truths, which are more captivating than the universal laws of attraction?

T h e A n s w e r : It is necessary to explain a profound principle in order to solve the two parts of this awesome question. It is like this:

The All-Glorious Creator of the universe has two sort of Names, those pertaining to His Glory and those pertaining to His Beauty. Since these Names require to demonstrate their decrees through different manifestations, the Glorious Creator blended together opposites in the universe. Bringing them face to face, he gave them aggressive and defensive positions, in the form of a sort of wise and beneficial contest. Through making the opposites transgress one another’s bounds, He brought conflict and change into being, and made the universe subject to the law of change and transformation and the principles of progress and advancement. In human kind, the comprehensive fruit of the tree of creation, he made that law of contest in even stranger form, and opening the door to striving, which would be the means of all human progress, He gave Satan’s party certain faculties with which to be able to challenge God’s party.

It is because of this subtle mystery that the prophets were often defeated before the people of misguidance. And the people of misguidance, who are extremely weak and impotent, temporarily triumph over the people of truth, who in reality are extremely strong, and struggle against them. The wisdom in this strange opposition is as follows:

In misguidance and unbelief is both non-existence and omission, so that it is extremely easy and does not require action. There is also destruction, which is most easy, and for which little action is needed. There is also aggression, whereby much harm is caused to many with little action, and from the point of view of intimidating others and in respect of satisfying the soul’s desire for power it gains rank and position for a person. And for the gratification of the vegetable and animal powers in man, which are blind to consequences and obsessed by present pleasure, there is freedom, which causes man’s subtle faculties, like the heart and reason, to give up their humane and far-sighted duties.

However, the sacred way of foremost the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace), the Beloved of the Sustainer of All the Worlds, and of the people of prophethood and the people of guidance, both pertains to existence, and is certainly established, and is constructive, and is based on important principles like action and moderation and considering the consequences and worship and smashing the sovereignty and independence of the evil-commanding soul. It is because of this that the dissemblers of that time in Medina closed their eyes to that refulgent sun like bats, and surrendering themselves to a satanic force of repulsion in the face of that huge attraction, remained in misguidance.

I f i t i s s a i d : Since the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was the Beloved of the Sustainer of All the Worlds; and that which was in his hand was truth and on his tongue was reality; and some of the soldiers in his army were angels; and he watered a whole army with one handful of water; and he provided a feast for a thousand men with four handfuls of wheat and the meat of one kid; and he caused the army of the unbelievers to flee by throwing a handful of dust at them which entered the eyes of all of them; how is it that this dominical commander who performed a thousand miracles similar to these was defeated at the end of Uhud and at the beginning of Hunayn?

T h e A n s w e r : The Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was sent to mankind as the guide and leader to be followed so that men should learn the rules of social and personal life from him, become accustomed to obeying the laws of the All-Wise One of Perfection, and act in conformity with the principles of His wisdom. If the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) had always relied on wonders and miracles, he could not have been absolute guide and leader.

It was because of this that he from time to time displayed miracles, in answer to need, only in order to make them affirm his claim to prophethood and to eliminate the unbelievers’ denial. At other times he obeyed the Divine commands more than anyone, and more than everyone acted in conformity with the Divine laws in creation, established through dominical wisdom and will, and submitted to them. He used to wear armour when confronting the enemy, and would order his troops to enter their trenches. He received wounds and suffered hardship. In this way he obeyed and observed to the letter the laws of Divine wisdom and the Greater Shari’a of Creation.

TENTH INDICATION

One of the most cunning of Iblis’s wiles is to make those who follow him deny himself. Since at this time those whose minds have been tainted by materialist philosophy in particular have been hesitant in these self-evident matters, we shall say one or two things in the face of this stratagem of Satan’s. They are as follows:

There are self-evidently corporeal evil spirits who perform Satan’s functions. So too it is certain to the same degree that there are evil spirits without bodies from the jinns. If they were clothed in physical bodies, they would be the same as those evil human beings. Also, if those evil spirits in human form were able to leave aside their bodies, they would be those jinn-satans. Even, it is as a consequence of this terrible relationship that one false school pronounced: “After they have died, excessively evil spirits in human form become devils.”

It is well-known that when something of high quality is corrupted it becomes more corrupted than something of less quality. For example, if yoghurt and milk go bad they may still be eaten, but if oil goes bad it becomes inedible, and even like poison. Similarly, if the most noble, indeed the highest of creatures, man, is corrupted, he becomes more so than a corrupted animal. Like vermin who enjoy the stink of putrifying matter and snakes who take pleasure at biting and poisoning, they take pride and pleasure at the evils and corrupt morality of the swamp of misguidance, being gratified at the harms and crimes of the darkness of evil-doing; quite simply they take on the nature of Satan. Yes, a decisive indication of the existence of devils from the jinn, is the existence of human satans.

Secondly: All the hundreds of decisive evidences proving the existence of angels and spirit beings in the Twenty-Ninth Word prove also the existence of evils spirits. We refer this aspect to that Word.

Thirdly: The existence of the angels, who are like the representatives and supervisors of the laws of the good matters in the universe, are established and agreed upon by all the religions. So too, the existence of evil and satanic spirits, who are the representatives and ushers of evil matters and the means of the laws of such matters, is required by wisdom and reality, and is certain. Indeed, in evil matters, a conscious screen is more necessary. For as is stated at the beginning of the Twenty-Second Word, since everyone cannot see the true good of everything, the All-Glorious Creator has made apparent intermediaries as a screen in respect of apparent evils and defects, so that objections should not be levelled at Him, nor His mercy be accused, nor his wisdom criticized or unjustly complained about, and so that objections, criticisms, and complaints should be directed at the screen, and not turned to the Generous Creator, the Absolutely Wise One. Just as He has made illness a screen to the appointed hour of death in order to save Azra’il from the complaints of His servants who die, so too He has made Azra’il a screen to the seizing of the spirits of the dying so that the complaints at that situation, which is fancied to be lacking in compassion, should not be directed to Almighty God. And even more certainly, dominical wisdom demanded the existence of Satan, so that objections and criticisms in the face of evils and bad things should not be directed to the All-Glorious Creator.

Fourthly: As man is a small world, the microcosm, so is the world a large human being, the macroanthropos. Small man is an index and summary of the macroanthropos. The large originals of the samples in man will necessarily be found in the macroanthropos. For example, the existence of man’s faculty of memory is a certain indication of the existence of the Preserved Tablet in the world. So too everyone has experienced in himself the inner faculty situated in a corner of the heart which is the means to diabolical suggestions and temptations and a satanic tongue which speaks through the promptings of the imagination and the corrupted power of imagination, which becomes like a small Satan and acts contrary to its owner’s will and opposed to his desiresthese are certain evidences to the existence of great satans in the world. And since the inner faculty which is the means to diabolical suggestions and the power of imagination are an ear and a tongue, they infer the existence of an external evil individual who blows on the one and makes the other speak.

ELEVENTH INDICATION

The All-Wise Qur’an states in miraculous fashion that the universe grows angry at the evil of the people of misguidance, and the universal elements becomes wrathful, and all beings, furious. In most awesome fashion it depicts the storm visited on the people of Noah and the assaults of the heavens and earth, the anger of the element air at the denial of the Ad and Thamud peoples, and the fury of the sea and element water at the people of Pharaoh, and the rage of the element earth at Qarun, and in accordance with the verse, Almost bursting with fury, the vehemence and anger of Hell at the people of unbelief in the Hereafter, and the rage of the other beings at the unbelievers and people of misguidance; in miraculous fashion it restrains the people of misguidance and rebellion.

Q u e s t i o n : Why do the unimportant actions and personal sins of unimportant men attract the anger of the universe in this way?

T h e A n s w e r : As proved in other parts of the Risale-i Nur and in the previous Indications, unbelief and misguidance are an awesome aggression and crime that concern all beings. For one of the greatest results of the universe’s creation is man’s worship and his responding to Divine dominicality with belief and submission. However, due to the denial of unbelief, the people of unbelief and misguidance reject that supreme result, which is the ultimate cause of beings and the reason for their continued existence, and therefore perpetrate a sort of transgression against the rights of all beings. So too, since they deny the manifestations of the Divine Names which are apparent in the mirrors of beings, exalting their value, they insult those sacred Names, and in addition, by degrading the value of all beings, greatly detract them. And while all beings are dominical officials charged with elevated duties, through unbelief, the people of misguidance cast them down, and showing them to be lifeless, transitory, meaningless creatures, they in a way violate the rights of all of them.

Thus, since according to its degree, the varieties of misguidance harm to a greater or lesser extent the dominical wisdom in the universe’s creation and the Divine purposes in the world’s continued existence, the universe becomes angry at the people of rebellion and misguidance, as do all beings and creatures.

O wretched man, whose being is small but guilt great and sin grievous! If you want to be delivered from the wrath of the universe, the rage of beings, and the aversion of creatures, here is the means: it is to enter the sacred bounds of the All-Wise Qur’an and to follow the Practices of the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace), who was the herald of the Qur’an. So enter the bounds and follow the Practices!

TWELFTH INDICATION

This consists of four questions and answers.

F i r s t Q u e s t i o n : How can boundless torment in an endless Hell in return for limited sins in a limited life be justice?

T h e A n s w e r : It was understood clearly in the above Indications, and particularly in the Eleventh, that unbelief and misguidance are an infinite crime, and transgression against innumerable rights.

S e c o n d Q u e s t i o n : It is said in the Shari’a that Hell is punishment for actions, but Paradise is a Divine favour. What is the reason for this?

T h e A n s w e r : It is clearly shown in the above Indications that with his faculty of will and insignificant wishes, through giving form and reality to something non-existent or theoretical, man causes awesome destruction and evils. And so too, since his soul and appetites always incline towards evil and harm, he is responsible for the evils that occur as a result of his slight wishes. For his soul wanted them and his desires gave rise to them. And since evil pertains to non-existence, the servant is the agent and Almighty God creates it. Being responsible for the infinite crime, he certainly deserves infinite punishment.

However, since good deeds and actions pertain to existence, man’s will and wishes cannot be the direct cause of their existence. Man cannot be the true agent in such an act. Also, his evil-commanding soul is not biased towards good deeds, rather, Divine mercy requires them and dominical power creates them. Man can only lay a claim to them through belief, a wish, or an intention. And having claimed them, those good works consist of thanks for the infinite Divine bounties he has received, like the bounties of belief and existence. This thanks looks to past bounties while Paradise, which as a Divine promise will be given, is a favour of the Most Merciful. Apparently it will be a reward, but in reality it is a favour.

That is to say, in evils the soul is the cause and deserves the punishment, while in good deeds, both the cause and the occasion are from God. Man can only lay claim to them through belief. He may not say: “I want the reward,” but he may say: “I hope for Divine favour.”

T h i r d Q u e s t i o n : It is understood from the above explanations that since evils become numerous through spreading and aggression, a single evil deed should be recorded as a thousand. While since they pertain to existence, good deeds do not become numerous, and since they do not occur through the servant’s creation or the desires of his soul, they should not be recorded at all or they should be recorded only as one. So why are evil deeds recorded as one and good deeds as ten, and sometimes as thousands?

T h e A n s w e r : Almighty God demonstrates His perfect mercy and the beauty of His compassionateness in that way.

F o u r t h Q u e s t i o n : The successes the people of misguidance have achieved and the power they demonstrate and their victories over the people of guidance show that they rely on some power and truth. That means either that the people of guidance possess some weakness, or that they possess some truth?

T h e A n s w e r : God forbid, neither do they possess any truth, nor the people of truth any weakness. But regretably some of the ordinary people who are short-sighted and unreasoning become doubtful and hesitant, and harm comes to their belief. For they say: “If the people of truth had possessed complete truth and reality, they should not have suffered defeat and abasement to this degree. For the truth is powerful. According to the fundamental principle “Truth is exalted and shall not be overcome,” power lies in truth. If the people of misguidance, who have predominated over the people of truth, had not possessed a true power and point of support, they could not have been successful and triumphed to this extent.”

T h e A n s w e r : As is proved in the above Indications, the defeat of the people of truth does not arise from lack of power and absence of truth, and as is also proved, the people of misguidance’s victory does not spring from their power and capacity and their possessing some point of support; thus the answer to this question is all the above Indications. Here we shall only point out a number of the tricks and weapons they employ, as follows:

I myself have frequently observed that mischief-makers, who form ten per cent, defeat the righteous, who form ninety per cent. I used to be astonished and curious. Investigating, I understood certainly that their victory results not from power, but from corruption, baseness, destruction, taking advantage of differences among the people of truth, sowing conflict among them, from playing on their weak traits of character and grafting them with such traits, and exciting the emotions of the soul and personal hatred, and through working the evil capacities in human nature which are like mines of corruption, and through hypocritically flattering the soul’s tyranny in the name of fame and glory, and through everyone fearing their unfeeling destruction. Through diabolical machinations like these, they temporarily triumph over the people of truth. But in accordance with the verse,

And the end is [best] for the righteous,

and the rule, “Truth is exalted and shall not be overcome,” in addition to its not yielding any significant benefit for them, their temporary triumph is the means of earning Hell for themselves and Paradise for the people of truth.

Thus, it is because in misguidance those without power appear powerful and the insignificant win fame that they take up a position opposed to the people of truth. In this way conceited, fame-seeking, hypocritical people demonstrate their power with very little and gain a position for themselves through intimidating others and causing harm; they are seen and attention is drawn to them, and the destruction of which they are the cause, not through power and ability, but through omission and failure to act, is attributed to them and they become talked about. Just like when one of those obsessed with fame defiled a place of worship so that everyone would talk about him. Even if he was execrated, so long as he was talked about, his worship of fame made such cursing appear desirable to him. It became proverbial.

O wretched man created for the world of eternity and enamoured of this transient world! Study closely the meaning of the verse,

And neither heaven nor earth shed a tear over them,

and heed it. Look, what does it say? With its explicit meaning it says: “When the people of misguidance die, the heavens and earth, which are connected with man, do not weep over them, that is, they are pleased at their deaths.” While with its implied meaning, it says: “The heavens and earth weep over the bodies over the people of guidance when they die; they do not want them to depart.” For all the universe is connected with the people of belief and they are happy with them. For since they know the Creator of the Universe through belief, they appreciate the universe’s value, and respect and love it. They do not nourish implicit enmity and contempt for it like the people of misguidance.

O man, think! You are bound to die. If you follow your soul and Satan, your neighbours, and even your relations, will be happy at being delivered from you. But if saying, “I seek refuge with God from Satan the Accursed,” you follow the Qur’an and the Merciful One’s Beloved, then in accordance with your degree the heavens and earth and all beings will be sorry at your parting, and in effect weep. Mourning in elevated fashion and giving you a splendid send-off, they will indicate that in accordance with your degree, you will have a good welcome in the world of eternity, when you enter it through the door of the grave.

THIRTEENTH INDICATION

This consists of three Points.

F i r s t P o i n t : One of Satan’s most cunning wiles is to deceive people with narrow minds, short views, and constricted hearts concerning the immensity of the truths of belief. He says: “It is said that a single Being directs and administers within His dominicality all particles and planets and stars and all the other beings and all their states. How can a person believe in such an immense and extraordinary matter? How can it be contained in the heart? How can the mind accept it?” He awakens a feeling of denial in respect of human impotence.

T h e A n s w e r : The way to silence this wile of Satan’s is “God is Most Great!” And its true answer is “God is Most Great!” Yes, “God is Most Great!” being the most frequently repeated of all the marks of Islam is in order to eliminate this wile. For it is through the light of “God is Most Great!” that man’s impotence and lack of power, weakness and lack of strength, and narrow thought see such infinitely vast truths and affirm them. And it is through the strength of “God is Most Great!” that man sustains those truths, and situates them within the sphere of “God is Most Great!” And he says to his heart which starts to doubt:

It is self-evident and apparent that the universe is administered and directed in most orderly fashion. There are two ways in which this may occur:

The First Way: It is possible, but it is truly immense and wondrous. Certainly, such an astonishing work comes about through wondrous art in a most wondrous way. As for that way, it is its coming about through the dominicality, will, and power of a Single and Eternally Besought One, to Whose existence there are witnesses to the number of beings, indeed, of minute particles.

The Second Way: This is the way of unbelief and associating partners with God, which is in no way possible and is difficult to the degree of being impossible and is in no respect reasonable. For as is proved decisively in many parts of the Risale-i Nur like the Twentieth Letter and Twenty-Second Word, there would have to be present in all the beings in the universe and even in every single particle absolute divinity and all-encompassing knowledge and infinite power so that the total order and regularity, and sensitive balance and distinction, and the perfect, adorned embroideries of art to be observed in beings could come into existence.

In Short: If there was no immense and tremendous dominicality, which is completely appropriate and in place, it would necessitate following a way which is in every respect unreasonable and precluded. Even Satan cannot propose fleeing from such immensity, which is appropriate and necessary, and suggest entering upon impossibility.

S e c o n d P o i n t : Another of Satan’s cunning wiles is to prevent man admitting his faults so that the way of seeking forgiveness and taking refuge with God should be closed. He also incites the egotism of the human soul, so that the soul defends itself like a lawyer, quite simply acquitting itself of all fault.

Yes, a soul that listens to Satan does not want to see its own faults. Even if it does see them, it explains them away in a hundred ways. According to the saying: “The eye of contentment is blind to faults,” when a person looks with pleasure on his soul, he does not see its faults. And because he does not see its faults, he does not admit to them, and does not seek forgiveness, nor seek refuge with God from them, and becomes the plaything of Satan. How can the soul be relied on when a noble prophet like Joseph (Upon whom be peace) said:

“Nor do I absolve my own self [of blame]; the [human] soul is certainly prone to evil, unless my Sustainer do bestow His mercy”?

One who accuses his soul, sees its faults. And one who admits his faults, seeks forgiveness for them. And one who seeks forgiveness, takes refuge with God. And one who takes refuge with God, is saved from Satan’s evil. Not to see his faults is a greater fault than the first fault. And not to admit to his faults is a serious defect. If he sees the fault, it ceases to be a fault. If he admits it, he becomes worthy of forgiveness.

T h i r d P o i n t : A satanic wile corrupting the life of society is this: it is not to see all the virtues of a believer on account of a single bad point. Those unjust people who heed this wile of Satan’s are inimical to believers in that way. However, when Almighty God weighs up deeds with absolute justice on the supreme scales at the Last Judgement, He will judge in accordance with the predominance of good deeds over evils and vice versa. And since the causes of evil deeds are numerous and their existence is easy, sometimes He veils many bad deeds with a single good deed.

That is to say, dealings in this world should be in accordance with that Divine justice. If a person’s good points are greater in regard to quality or quantity than his bad points, the man is deserving of love and respect. Indeed, one should forgive numerous bad points on account of a single valuable virtue. However, due to the vein of tyranny in his nature and through the promptings of Satan, man forgets the hundred virtues of a person because of a single bad point, is hostile towards his believing brother, and commits sins. Like a fly’s wing covering the eye conceals a mountain, so too, due to the veil of hatred, man conceals virtues as great as a mountain due to one evil like a fly’s wing; he forgets them, is hostile towards his brother believer, and becomes a tool of corruption in the life of society.

Through another wile resembling this one, Satan corrupts the wholeness of peoples’ thoughts. He destroys sound judgement concerning the truths of belief and damages integrity and correctness of thought. It is like this:

He wants to destroy hundreds of evidences proving the truths of belief through a slight hint refuting them. Whereas it is an established principle that “A single proof is superior to a hundred denials.” The statement of a witness proving a claim is preferable to a hundred people denying it. Consider this truth by means of the following comparison:

There is a palace with a hundred doors all closed. On one of its doors being opened, the palace may be entered and the other doors opened. If all the doors are open, and one or two are closed, it may not be said that the palace cannot not be entered.

Thus, the truths of belief are the palace. Each evidence is a key; it proves the truths and opens a door. If one of the doors remains closed, the truths of belief cannot be abandoned and denied. Satan however, as a consequence of certain things or by means of heedlessness or ignorance, points out a door that has remained closed, thus causing a person to disregard all the positive evidences. Saying: “See, this palace cannot be entered. Perhaps it is not a palace, and there is nothing inside it,” he deceives the person.

O wretched man afflicted by the wiles of Satan! If you want the life of religion and of society and personal life all to be healthy, and if you want integrity of thought, a sound view, and a sincere heart, weigh up your actions and thoughts on the scales of the incontestable matters of the Qur’an and the balance of the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH). Always take the Qur’an and the Practices as your guide. Say: I take refuge with God from Satan the Accursed, and seek refuge with God Almighty!

And so, the above Thirteen Indications are thirteen keys. Use them to open the door of the fortified stronghold of the Sura,

Say: I seek refuge with the Lord and Cherisher of mankind * The Ruler of mankind * The God of mankind * From the mischief of the Whisperer [of evil], who withdraws [after his whisper]— * [The same] who whispers into the hearts of mankind— * Among jinns and among men;

enter this secure citadel and find safety!

Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.

And say: O My Sustainer, I seek refuge with You from the whisperings of the Evil Ones, * and I seek refuge with you, my Sustainer lest they should come near me.

* * *