Reflect Magazine 2013

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REFLECT

MAGAZINE

Luminosity

Myth of the Islamic City

July 2013Issue 1

To be present in more than one place at the same time.

No place or space can be more sacred than any other.


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EDITORS NOTEWelcome to the first issue ofReflect. The magazine will be published annually

and its purpose is to present articles written by academics to assist with the

understanding of some concept in the Risale-i Nur. The magazine will also

feature a news and events section that will summarise recent activity in the

Risale-i Nur sphere and another section that will contain an interview from a

prominent figure. I would personally like to thank Turhan Yolcu for helping me

edit the magazine, the organisations that financially supported the magazine

and the academics either writing or being interviewed for the magazine.

ActualEvidence is the sole publisher of Reflect. ActualEvidence is a research

group in Australia that explores issues relating to God, existence, science and

more. For more information please visitwww.actualevidence.com.

I hope you enjoy and benefit from reading this magazine.

Dr. Murat Besnek

CONTENTS

Dr. Murat BesnekEditor

Mr. Arif YavuzDesigner


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01

04

02

05

03

06

ARTICLE 1

ARTICLE 4

ARTICLE 2

NEWS AND EVENTS

ARTICLE 3

THE INTERVIEW

In the first article of this issue, Professor

Colin Turner challenges some of our

preconceptions about sacrality. He

argues convincingly that since each non-

prohibited (or halal) place, thing and act

reflects the Divine names and attributes of

God, no place or thing can be considered

more sacred than another. Views to the

contrary, he argues, are based merely

on the subjective perceptions of the

individual.

Finally, in our fourth article, Doctor

Umeyye Isra Yazicioglu takes us on an

excursion of self-discovery, where the aim

is apprehension of the One. To guide us on

this journey, she relies on Bediuzzamans

insights into our unbounded needs

and particularly our need for beauty

and eternity. Doctor Yazicioglu clearly

demonstrates that without eternity, the

human capacity to think and connect

with the world brings about nothing but

pain.

Next, in our second article, we benefit

from the unique insights of Professor

Yunus Cengel, an authority in the field

of thermodynamics. Professor Cengel

posits that incorporating the concept

pair subtlety versus density into our

understanding of the phenomenal world,

can address some hitherto unresolved

issues in quantum mechanics. His article

also provides an important insight into

Gods name ofNurthrough the subatomic

world and its properties like spacelessness

and timelessness.

Here, we present the latest news and

events regarding the Risale-i Nur.

This includes conferences, seminars,

publications and books. In this issue, we

review a book from a renowned Australian

journalist about Bediuzzaman Said Nursi.

We also summarise the latest updates in

the academic scene with conferences and

symposiums in England, India, Egypt and

Singapore.

In our third article, Associate Professor

Yamina Mermer explores answers to

questions that arise from the Quranic

notion that men and jinn were created

only to know and worship God. Associate

Professor Mermer ponders, together

with Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, What

does it mean to worship? Why is worship

so central to our telos? What are the

consequences of neglecting it? It is

striking to learn from this article, that

our everyday choices can have such

momentous implications for our spiritual

lives.

In this section, we interview Professor

Sener Dilek during his trip to Australia.

Professor Dilek is a gifted individual who

has dedicated his life to research and

attaining knowledge. He is famous for his

lectures that are technical and precise,

while being motivational and inspiring

at the same time. We should also add that

his funny side is second to none. It is very

common to see the audience in tears of

laughter when he lectures. During the 20

minute interview, we were able to acquire

answers to important questions like, Is

there strong evidence in this universe for

the existence of God?


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THEMYTHOF THE ISLAMIC CITY:

RETHINKING THE NOTION OF SACRED SPACEProf. Colin Turner

My aims in this article are twofold. As the

title suggests, the first aim is to explore

the contention that the traditional notion

of the Islamic city is a myth a fiction

fuelled by a reductive and essentialist

approach to Islam in general and Muslim

cultures in particular. The second aim will,

as I hope to show, follow on from the first,

and involves a rethinking of the notion

of sacred space, particularly insofar as it

pertains to Muslim perceptions.

My objectives are also twofold.

The first is to argue that the same

misconceptions which divide cities into

Islamic and other than Islamic are the

same misconceptions which lead faith

communities to confer a greater sacrality

on some places than they do on others.

The second objective is to argue that it is

these self-same misconceptions about the

tiered sacrality of place and space which

are also at the heart of the erroneous

compartmentalisation of culture into the

religious and the worldly, leading to a

secularisation not only of space but also

of approach and behaviour.

With the advent of the so-called Islamic

revival in the second half of the 20th

century, the question of the Islamic

city was once again brought to the fore.

In many Muslim-majority countries,

urban planners have looked, and still

look, to past achievements in order to

replicate patterns of building traditionally

identified as Islamic. This notion that there

is a traditional mode of urban planning

identifiable as Islamic in other words

the notion that there is such a thing as

an Islamic city is one that has its roots

largely in French Orientalist scholarship.

However, the idea has also found favour

among Muslim writers, and particularly

those who deal with urban morphology

and town planning. And naturally in the

popular Muslim psyche, the notion that

space and place may be seen as Islamic

cannot be underestimated.

As Andre Raymond points out, the classical

Orientalist approach to the Muslim city and

Muslim urban development fits naturally

into what he calls the fundamental

concept of Orientalism, according to

which any phenomenon which emerges

in the civilisation of a predominantly

Muslim area or country is seen as being

conditioned in its entirety by Islam. Given

this, it is hardly surprising that the religion

of Islam is referred to time and time again

when discussion takes place about the

institutions, the organisation of political

life, the socioeconomic activities and even

the architecture and morphology of the

city all things which, it should be clear,

one can really only describe as Muslim.

The contemporary scholar Janet Abu-

Lughod has dealt albeit not entirely

convincingly with the whole idea of the

Islamic city a creation, she believes,

of largely French Orientalist scholars

writing at the turn of the 20th century.

Focusing in particular on the work of the

brothers William and George Marcais, she

shows how the defining characteristics


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For a city, like a theology or a philosophy or a mystical system,is a work in progress, and a work in progress neither warrants,nor is in need of being validated by, the adjective Islamic.

of what was believed to be the Islamiccity were codified. The Marcais brothers,

and scholars after them such as Von

Grunebraum and Brunschvig, set forth the

characteristics of the Islamic city

primarily as they had been observed in

North Africa, and in particular the city of

Fez in Morocco. Identifying the existence

of a mosque, a bazaar and the hamam as

the key ingredients of the Islamic city,

most of these Orientalist studies focus on

a single case and attempt to generalise,without any attempt to answer the

question of why would one expect

Muslim-majority cities to be similar and

in what ways?

That there is a similarity in many cities

which have been developed by Muslims is

not in question here. What is in question

is the extent to which Islam is responsible

for influencing any of the different forces

which actually went into the shaping

of those prototypical Islamic cities

described by the Orientalist scholars in

question. Terrain, for example, cannot

be Islamic; nor can technology. All that

is left is the socio-political and legal

characteristics of Islam, which may have

shaped, but certainly did not determine,

the processes whereby Muslim cities

were formed and developed.

As Janet Abu-Lughod concludes, religion

cannot be the determining factor. Even

the characteristics of Muslim-majority

cities that she identifies as being

distinctive such as the division of cities

into ethnic quarters; the segregation of

men and women cannot, because of the

highly contentious nature of the precepts

which drive them be seen as Islamic

as such. Thus, she contends, the idea of

the Islamic city is one that is foundedon too few cases, and on a model of

outcomes rather than one of processes.

Consequently, the aim was to generalise

about a specific form of city at one

moment in time without deconstructing

the various causes of that outcome. That

particular form was then equated with the

Islamic city, regardless of whether or not

there was anything particularly Islamic

about the causes.

To prefix anything with the adjectiveIslamic is not only dysfunctional to our

understanding of the thing so described,

but it is also, I contend, misleading with

regard to our understanding of Islam itself.

To understand why this should be so does

not demand any huge intellectual effort.

Those who work in the field of Islamic

Studies another largely meaningless

and ultimately unhelpful term will

be aware of a number of academic

disciplines which are illustrative of the

problem at hand. Islamic theology is one

such discipline; Islamic law is another, as

is Islamic philosophy, Islamic mysticism

and, possibly the most meaningless of all,

Islamic history. The names of these fields

of study and research are used almost

universally, but little thought is actually

given to how fundamentally flawed

and, indeed, suspect, the reasoning

behind their nomenclature actually is.

For example, to prefix theology with

the modifier Islamic and then to talk in

terms of Islamic theology is to disregard

the fact that the history of Muslim

theological discourse is a history of

multiple theologies with multiple sources

of influence. To use the adjective Islamic

is to set an orthodox seal of approval on

Prof. Colin TurnerUniversity of Durham, UK


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something which then sets in stone and

essentialises that which can never be set

in stone and can never be essentialised.

The same applies to law, to philosophy, to

history and to all other disciplines in the

Muslim world of learning, all of which, as

humanly constructed processes, are on

paper at least evolving and therefore

fallible.

The term Islamic city is unlikely to

be cast aside any time soon, as are the

terms Islamic theology, Islamic law

and Islamic history. This is unfortunate,

because not only does the adjective

Islamic tell us little that is meaningful

about the essence of these phenomena,

it also serves to draw erroneous dividing

lines between physical and conceptual

domains which strictly speaking have no

right to be there. If Cairo, for example,

is seen as an Islamic city by whichever

criteria we wish to apply then how

does one view London, Birmingham or

Manchester, all that meet many of the

criteria drawn up by Orientalists and

Muslims alike, but which by virtue of the

fact that they are located in non-Muslim

domains, would most likely not register as

particularly Islamic in the minds of most

Muslims. And this despite having Muslim

minorities as large as, if not larger than,

the Coptic Christian minority in Cairo.

Thus despite the extent to which the

planning, the morphology and the

functions of a city may be infused by the

precepts of Islam, a city can never be

Islamic in the true sense of the word, for

the very same reason that the theologies,

philosophies and mystical systems

formulated by Muslims can never be truly

Islamic. For a city, like a theology or a

philosophy or a mystical system, is a work

in progress, and a work in progress neither

warrants, nor is in need of being validated

by, the adjective Islamic. Yet the outdated

notion of the Islamic city and, indeed,

the ideal Islamic city of the future is an

enduring one, not least among Muslim

in accordance with the philosophy and

vision of Islam.

Indeed, to consider it to be such is to

overlook the efforts and achievements

not only of the non-Muslims who have

contributed to the development of the

city in the past, but also of those non-

Muslims today who call Istanbul their

home. It should in any case be clear

that we cannot rely on demographics to

provide us with criteria for the Islamicity

of space: just because a city boasts a

Muslim majority can never by default

make that city Islamic. The same applies

to larger geographical entities. Between

10% and 15% of the Egyptian population

is made up of Coptic Christians and thus

it would be misleading in the extreme

to describe Egypt as an Islamic country,

although that is clearly how most Muslims

perceive and describe it.

If we consider Spahic Omers other

desiderata convenience, efficiency,

security, sustainable development and,

as he puts it, anything else that Islam

reckons as indispensable for living a

decent, honourable and accountable life,

we see that in many respects, Istanbul, like

any other metropolis, is found wanting.

Cleanliness, for example, is a virtue

extolled by the Quran and enshrined in the

myriad laws of purification and ablution,

yet walking through many big cities in

the so-called Muslim world can often be

like walking through a rubbish dump;

similarly, the traffic in these large Islamic

cities is understandably heavy, but is

made considerably worse by the fact that

many people often drive with absolutely

no thought or respect for others. Other

such examples are too numerous to list

here. Thus if convenience and efficiency

are hallmarks of an Islamic city, one

might be tempted to say that many cities

in the non-Muslim West, for example, bear

more resemblance to Islamic cities than,

say, Cairo, Karachi or Tehran.

This division of the world into the Islamic

architects and urban planners. According

to Spahic Omer, a scholar who focuses on

architecture and environmental design,

central to the criteria by which a city

may be categorised as Islamic are: The

sanctity and purity of its philosophy,

vision and functions, accompanied

by convenience, efficiency, security,

sustainable development and anything

else that Islam reckons as indispensable

for living a decent, honourable and

accountable life.

This line of reasoning, upon which the

author fails to elaborate convincingly, is

as problematic as it is vague. There are

few, if any cities, in existence today which

can be said to have been conceived in

accordance with the philosophy and

vision of Islam itself a heavily contested

term although that is not to say that

individual Muslim believers have not tried

to embody precepts they believe to be

Islamic in their city-building endeavours.

For example, the redoubtable Mimar

Sinan, whose numerous stunning works

of architecture make Istanbul one of the

jewels in the crown of what has come to

be known as the Muslim world and

Muslim world is itself a problematic

term, but I think everyone is clear as to

what is meant by it.

But are the endeavours of individual

Muslims enough to render a city Islamic?

If we stay for a moment with the example

of Istanbul, we may see how patently

lacking in credibility those standards

mentioned earlier are. Despite its natural

beauty and its architectural wonders, by

no stretch of the imagination does Istanbul

qualify as an Islamic city, particularly

by the dubious criteria formulated by

Spahic Omer. Historically, Istanbul has

served as either a major city or the official

capital of four empires: the Roman; the

Byzantine; the Latin; and the Ottoman. In

its conception and evolution, therefore,

there is no way that it can be construed

that it was conceived, or has evolved,


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and the other is of course nothing new

in the history of Muslim thought. Indeed,

it found embodiment early on in the

spurious division that medieval jihadists

drew between the dar al-Islam and the dar

al-harb a division which still resonates

with many contemporary Muslims and

Muslim thinkers. More pertinently,

however, this division finds expression in

a division drawn between the religious

and the non-religious, or, to put it in other

words, the religious and the worldly or

the religious and the secular. Spahic

Omer himself admits that Islam draws

no distinction between the religious and

secular realms along ideological lines.

Allahs words of guidance are bidden to be

The feeling that one place is somehow

more redolent of the sacred than another

comes, I contend, not from the place

itself but from the mental and emotional

associations that go with it.

evenly exalted, adhered to, implemented,

and made supreme in each and every

department of human existence.

Yet he goes on to say that the Islamic city

is a multifaceted entity which is made up

of both religious and secular buildings,

such as mosques, government buildings,

numerous other religious structures

and establishments, private dwellings,

markets, hospitals, recreational facilities,

gardens, street networks, open spaces and

so on. Religious and secular functions, he

says, are not separable in Islam. But if this

is the case, why does Spahic Omer draw

even a conceptual distinction between

that which is religious and that which is

secular? If by secular he means that upon

which any reference to religion or to God

does not impinge or is not related, then

to what extent is it meaningful from the

Islamic perspective to describe a city as

a mix of the religious and the other-than-

religious, or, and this is what I suspect

he really means, the religious and the

worldly.

This division between the religious

and the secular or the religious and

the worldly is not one that is made by

Spahic Omer alone; indeed, it pervades

Muslim popular consciousness to the

point of ubiquity. From numerous semi-

structured interviews with Muslim

undergraduate and doctoral students in

the United Kingdom it has become clear

to me in my own research that there is

a pervasive conceptual split between

that which is deemed religious and that

which is considered to be secular or

worldly. One illustrative example is taken

from a compare and contrast exercise

involving various daily functions such

as the performance of canonical prayer

(namaz); driving to the supermarket;

giving zakat; going to the bathroom;

eating dinner; visiting someone in

hospital, and so on. From the results of

the exercise it was clear that there is still

a marked conceptual distinction drawn

between the religious and the worldly.

The performance of the canonical prayer

was unanimously seen as a religious act,

while actions such as driving to the local


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supermarket or visiting the bathroom

were mostly seen either as worldly or,

even more intriguing, as neutral.

The dividing lines were drawn even more

deeply when it came to perceptions

of place and space. The mosque was,

unsurprisingly, seen unanimously as a

religious building, while places such as

the bus station, the supermarket and the

town hall were seen invariably as secular,

worldly or neutral places. There seems

to be an entrenched position in the

popular Muslim psyche which accords

sacrality to places in accordance with

their orthopractic functionality. A number

of respondents did offer more nuanced

responses, with a minority averring that

sacrality pervaded all things, albeit in a

hierarchical manner, with some places

and spaces deemed more sacred than

others. The notion of tiered sacrality

namely that some places are more sacred

than others allows us to segue here

to the discourse of Said Nursi, whose

concept-pair of mana-i ismi and mana-i

harfi may help us shed some light on the

issues at hand.

In the Nursian scheme, the visible realm

(lam al-shahda) is akin to a full-length

mirror in which the hidden treasure,

that is, God, manifests himself in order to

contemplate His own perfection. While

on the level of Divine essence, this act

of contemplation is self-reflexive, on

the level of divine acts, contemplation

is mediated through creation, at the

pinnacle of which stands man. For

Nursi, all created beings manifest Gods

names to some degree: the whole of the

cosmos becomes a hierophany, with each

created being hymning the praises of God

through its innate disposition. However,

unlike Mircea Eliades perception of

the hierophanic, which posits each of

the constituent beings in the cosmos

as potentially indicative of the sacred,

Nursis vision is one in which all things

actually and actively reflect the Other, yet

without compromising their own distinct

otherness.

The Nursian position, then, posits

the whole of the created realm as a

manifestation of the Divine and thus,

from the creational perspective, a realm

which is wholly imbued with the sacred.

One may be reminded here of the Quranic

verse which claims that not only is God

manifesting Himself at each moment

(kull yawm huwa fi shan), but also that

Wherever you may turn, there is the

face of God. Nursis corroboration of

this foundational Quranic position would

tend, therefore, to suggest that all places

and spaces partake of the sacrality which

comes from being a reflection of the

Divine names and attributes. A mosque,

then, as a structure in space and time,

cannot be deemed inherently more

sacred on the creational level than, say, a

shopping mall or a government building.

Indeed, according to the tradition, kull al-

ard masjidullah the whole of the world

is a place of prostration, a masjid, before

God.

As far as our discussion of cities is

concerned, the idea that people and

spaces are divisible into the Islamic and

the other than Islamic is thus contested

by Nursi and by the Islamic revelation

itself. It is also contested by the Prophet,

who, upon his arrival in Medina, declared

in the so-called Constitution of Medina

that the whole of that city was now a

haram or sacred territory, despite the

fact that only a minority of its inhabitants

were Muslim. Sacrality in Muslim spiritual

parlance can be expressed by the notion

of living at the very interface of mulk

and malakut. And ultimately, I contend,

this is an issue of perception. There

is no denying that in popular Muslim

consciousness, some places are deemed

by default to be more sacred than others.

Nevertheless, perceptions of the sacred,

and of the more sacred, can never be

truly intersubjective. The feeling that one

place is somehow more redolent of the

sacred than another comes, I contend,

not from the place itself but from the

mental and emotional associations that

go with it.

This may be illustrated with an example

not of space, but of time. The canonical

prayer times, in and of themselves, cannot

rationally speaking be any more or indeed

any less sacred than any other times. This

is not to say, of course, that there is no

intrinsic wisdom in these times being set

in the way that they are. There may well

be a Divine wisdom pertaining to the

prayer times that demands the prayers

being said then and at no other times.

However, wisdom and sacrality need to be

distinguished one from the other. While

one particular time allotted for prayer

may partake of a certain wisdom which

another time lacks, it can never be said

to enjoy greater sacrality in and of itself,

outside the context of prayer.

Indeed, nor can prayer in and of itself

be said to be more sacred than any other

action that meets the criteria of righteous.

The canonical prayer is an aide-memoire:

a means of remembering. But it is not

only an aide-memoire that reminds the

individual of God; it is an aide-memoire

that reminds the individual of the need

for constant awareness, and that devotion

is something which should spill over

from the canonical prayer, infusing and

permeating all moments, and not just the

moment in which the canonical worship

is offered. In fact, not only is the canonical

prayer no more sacred than any other

moment of righteous awareness, but in

and of itself the canonical prayer is only as

sacred in practice as the intention of the

one performing it. In other words, on the

level of praxis, the canonical prayer, like

any other permitted or recommended act,

may be either sacred or profane. The level

of sacrality or profanity depends solely

on what is brought to that act by the one

who performs it.


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To see a phenomenon through the prism of the Other-indicative (mana-i harfi),

however, is to realise that it possess meaning only insofar as it is an indicator of the

Other, i.e. of God.

from a purely creational viewpoint, be

inherently more sacred than any other:

all places and spaces are sacred because

they are held to be the creation and locus

of manifestation of the Divine attributes.

Of course, one may argue that this does

not account for the fact that some places

feel more sacred than others. However,

exactly why the numinous is appreciated

more in some places than in others is a

different issue for a different time.

From a Nursian perspective, the sacred/

profane dichotomy is expressed through

his exposition of the concept-pair of

mana-i ismi and mana-i harfi. A detailed

explanation of this is beyond the scope of

this article. Suffice here to say that to see

a phenomenon through the prism of the

self-referential (mana-i ismi) is to see that

phenomenon as having meaning in and of

itself alone. In other words, its existence

points to nothing else except itself. To see

a phenomenon through the prism of the

Other-indicative (mana-i harfi), however,

is to realise that it possesses meaning

only insofar as it is an indicator of the

Other, i.e. of God. In the Nursian schema,

then, sacrality and profanity inhere not

in phenomena themselves but in mans

approach to them: sacrality and profanity

are thus attitudinal and not existential.

From a Nursian perspective, therefore,

it is clear that no place or space can,


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Prof. Yunus Cengel

Introduction

The word nur is described as brightness,

luminescence, radiance, light and gleam.

It is also expressed as the opposite of all

kinds of darkness. Nur is one of the 99

names ofAllah. It refers to Allah as the

source, creator and giver of all lights.

Nuris used to describe the Quran, beliefand prophets, all of which cause spiritual

illumination. The things that have nuror

that are created out ofnurlike angels are

called luminous and the state of having

nur is called luminosity. There is no

physical equivalent of nur, and its true

nature is not fully understood.

Despite the nuances among them, the

words light and nurare often mistakenly

used synonymously. Light represents the

material or physical being that comes

from the sun and lamps, that can be

seen by the eye, that can be measured

by instruments, and that appears bright.

Whereas nurrepresents the non-material

or metaphysical being like knowledge

and belief. It cannot be measured by

instruments; its existence is perceived

as luminousness. Thus, light is related

to material illumination, while nur is

related to spiritual illumination. However,

due to the common connection with

illumination, nur is also defined as light

metaphorically and it is thus materialised

in a sense.

A simple example may help us understandthe concept of nur being related to

knowledge. Physical light enables us to see

the outer appearance of beings and events

through the biological eye. Knowledge is

a non-material light, that is, nur, which

illuminates the inner appearance of

beings and events, displaying them to the

eye of the mind. The biological eye sees

the present time with physical light. But

the eye of the mind sees the present, past

and future through the luminous light

of knowledge; it makes man a timeless

being.

The biological eye cannot see in a dark

environment; if there was no light, the

existence of the eye would be meaningless.

Similarly, the eye of the mind cannot see

in an environment of ignorance; if there

was no knowledge, the existence of the

mind would be purposeless. Knowledge is

a non-material light that has been present

pre-eternally; it is beyond time and place.

In the enlightenment of communities,

the non-material light of knowledge

that radiates from intellectuals is no less

important than the physical light given bythe sun.

The source of physical sciences is

observation. Scientific research is carried

out by observing beings and events, since

everything, from atoms to galaxies, has

a non-material knowledge structure;

knowledge (information content) is

interwoven through all things. Scientific

study involves discovering and presenting

the knowledge body of beings fully and

correctly. It is carried out by observing

the glitters of knowledge in the structure

of beings, by seeing and showing the

source of these glitters through the eye

of the mind. Knowledge existed before

man, since - as scientists have discovered

through careful research - everything in

the universe is built with knowledge.

Luminosityand the Quantum Realm


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Light represents the material or physical being that comes fromthe sun and lamps, that can be seen by the eye, that can be meas-ured by instruments, and that appears bright. Whereas nur rep-resents the non-material or metaphysical being like knowledgeand belief.

Prof. Yunus CengelAdnan Menderes University, Turkey

John Doe Vincent

Leader Pro

Charles ManesterWriter

The fact that everything in the universe is

built with knowledge, and that knowledge

virtually glitters from all beings, shows

the existence of a widespread, luminous

knowledge light that penetrates into

everything. However, there is no material

element called knowledge in the

fundamental building blocks of beings;

therefore, knowledge - without doubt

- is not matter; it is non-material. This

non-material light of knowledge can

be perceived by the spiritual eye of the

mind, in contrast to physical light that is

perceived by the material eye.

Similar things can be said about beauty

and the nurof art. In life, there are certain

things which are mysterious, but which

are nonetheless recognised whenever

they are perceived. Beauty can be defined

as a non-material light that originates

from moderation and harmony. That is,

matter and movement can be turned to

such a state that they can reflect beauty

just as carbon atoms reflect physical

light glitteringly when they are arranged

to form a crystal. To see the rose is one

thing, but to see the beauty in the rose is

something else. The biological eye sees

the former, while only conscious beings

that have an understanding of beauty see

the latter, and do so with the spiritual eye

of the heart.

What makes the rose beautiful is not

beauty in its atoms, because the hydrogen

or nitrogen atoms in a living rose are

the same as the hydrogen or nitrogen

atoms in a crushed and muddy rose. Since

something that does not exist in any of

the constituents of an object cannot exist

in its whole, the beauty of the rose does

not originate from itself, that is, from its

substance, but from outside just as the

dazzling glitter of the diamond comes

from a source of light outside itself. The

property of the rose and other beautiful

things is their ability to reflect beauty, not

the ownership of beauty.


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and travels at a speed that matter can

never reach. Then, it can be said that

matter and energy are not the same

kind of beings. One of them is condensed

and the other is subtle. Subtle things

are beyond time and space to a certain

extent; subtle things are also called half-

luminous things. If there exists the state

of subtlety or half-luminosity, which is

a state of being partly conditional, then,

there exists the state of full luminosity,

which is an extension of that state, and is

a state of being completely free from the

limitations of time and space.

Thus, it is necessary to classify beings in

a table of subtlety and density, beginning

with full luminosity and ending with

full density, and to regard beings as a

combination of luminosity and matter.

It is certain through observation that

luminosity is dominant at the subatomic

level and density is dominant at the supra-

atomic level. For instance, both the place

and speed of a tennis ball, which is supra-

atomic, can be measured with precision.

However, the speed and place of the

electron, which is a subatomic, cannot be

determined. If its speed is certain, its place

is not certain. That is, it is either nowhere

or it can be anywhere. It can even be in

two different places at once. However,

the probability of the electron being in

some places is higher; and this probability

distribution is expressed in the form of

a wave function. This phenomenon is

known as the Heisenberg uncertainty

principle in physics. Quantum theory is

dominant in the subatomic world and

Einsteins theory of relativity is dominant

in the supra-atomic world; and a theory

to combine those two theories has not

been successful yet despite all efforts.

We imagine the electron to be a

particle but it is also a wave just

like electromagnetic waves. The wave

property of the electron is seen clearly

in interference experiments. That is why

the dilemma of particle-wave duality

Matter, Energy and Nur

The physical world that we perceive with

our senses consists of energy. On the

received Big Bang model of cosmology, the

universe was comprised only of energy in

its first phase. In this phase, everything

was inside everything, and nothing took

up volume. During the first fractions of

a second after the Big Bang, elementary

particles like quarks and gluons formed

as a result of the sharp fall in temperature

and the condensation of energy; then,

protons and neutrons formed as a result

of their combination.

Matter consists of molecules; molecules

consist of atoms; and atoms consist of

subatomic particles like electrons, protons

and neutrons. Matter is a condensed form

of energy; and matter and energy can

be transformed into each other as it is

stated by the famous formula of Einstein:

E=mc. It can even be said that matter is a

form of energy that has lost its subtleties.

Two basic properties of matter are as

follows: it has mass and it takes up space.

Therefore, matter is defined as anything

that has mass and takes up space. Matter

and energy are physical beings; both are

subject to the laws of physics; both can be

observed and measured. However, unlike

matter, energy does not take up space

and it has no fixed mass. Thus, unlike

condensed matter, energy is a subtle

being that has no mass and that does

not take up space on its own. However,

as a physical being, it is subject to some

limitations for instance, the speed of

electromagnetic radiation cannot exceed

the speed of light.

Matter and energy are two components

of the same whole and they are virtually

sources of each other. In the sun, matter

constantly turns to energy and the solar

energy travels to the world in the form

of heat and light at a speed of 300,000

kilometres per second. That is, matter

turns to something that has no mass and

that does not take up space (antimatter)

in the subatomic world is one of the

cornerstones of quantum mechanics.

That is, electrons and other subatomic

particles sometimes act like a particle and

sometimes like a wave. Thus, it can be

said that subatomic particles are neither

particles nor waves because both of these

have different properties. For instance,

sound spreads in the air as a wave; while

the bullet from a gun moves as a piece of

mass. Similarly, a fruit cannot be an apple

and a pear at the same time. If it can be,

then, that fruit is neither an apple nor a

pear. Therefore, subatomic particles must

be a sort of thing that is able to manifest

two opposite characteristics that of

both waves and particles.

Unlike dense beings like tables and chairs

that are made of matter, subtle beings

made of energy (such as light) have no

mass and they do not take up space.

They settle where there are other things.

As a matter of fact, there are hundreds

of broadcasts in the same point in the

form of electromagnetic energy in the

air, but there is never a jam. All of them

travel through one another at a speed of

300,000 kilometres per second. They can

travel around the world a few times in

seconds and as such, they can virtually be

everywhere at the same time. Similarly,

a lamp is something that has mass and

that takes up space; therefore, it is dense.

However, the light coming from the lamp

has no mass; it does not take up space

and it has no certain place it is virtually

everywhere. However, the intensity of the

light decreases as it moves away from the

lamp. Therefore, light is a semi-luminous

being as it has a dimension of density to it.

The luminousness of light is seen

more clearly if its colors are taken into

consideration. Black surfaces absorb

almost all of the light that reaches them;

therefore, they are seen as black. White

surfaces reflect all of the light, that is, all

colors that fall on them and are seen as

white by the eye. As anyone may recall


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13

Thus, it is necessary to classify beings in a table of subtlety and density,beginning with full luminosity and ending with full density, and toregard beings as a combination of luminosity and matter.

from prism experiments, the white light

coming from the sun or an incandescent

lamp goes through the prism; it is then

separated into colors from violet to

orange, such that various colored light

beams come out of the prism. When those

various colors pass through another

prism, the opposite takes place and the

colors unite, coming out of the prism as

white.

When this event, which is seen as an

ordinary event, is investigated carefully,

we see a phenomenon that is not

usually seen in the realm of physics: in

the separating prism, colors come into

existence out of the white light; and in the

uniting prism, the colors disappear and

become white light. Since, in the realm

of physics, nothing can be brought into

existence out of nothing and nothing can

be sent into non-existence, colors must

be non-physical, luminous beings, that

become manifest at a certain wavelength

and at a certain form in the physical realm.

To understand it better, let us consider

the example of paints, which are dense

beings: Is it possible to take a bucket of

just white paint and to then obtain paints

with various other colors from it? Or more

interestingly, is it possible to mix various

colors of paint and to obtain white paint?

It is not. The difference between dense

white paint and subtle white light is

luminosity; it is impossible to explain

these simple observations without using

the concept of luminosity.

Quantum Mechanics and Nur

The most famous experiment that

characterises the strange actions of

particles in the quantum world and that

shows things being present in more than

one place at the same time is the double-

slit experiment. Imagine that there are

two parallel walls, one behind the other,

and that there is a small slit in the front

wall. If a tennis ball shooting machine

shoots out tennis balls toward the front

wall, the balls that come to the slit will

pass through to the rear wall, and the

marks that the balls make will form a band

on this rear wall. If the walls are flooded

with water up to the slit, and if waves are

formed one after the other on the surface

of the water, the waves that reach the slit

will move through and hit the rear wall.

When there is only one slit, there will be

no interference. However, if there are two

slits in the front wall, the waves that pass

through them will undergo interference,

and in the places where two wave crests

clash, the height of the wave will double.

In the places where a wave trough clashes

with a wave crest, the two waves will

eliminate each other. In the end, in the

places where strengthened wave crests

hit, a single series of interference bands


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14

two slits on the front wall, they act like

waves.

More interestingly, when a measuring

device is placed at the back of the slits

in order to see which electrons pass

through which slit, electrons pass

through only one or the other slit, acting

as particles. Here, the electrons form two

trace bands on the back wall, as though

they somehow know that they are being

observed. The observation of the electron

literally seems to cause it to act as a

particle rather than a wave. The electrons

seem to feel the intention or will to situate

them in a certain position - or to become

condensed and matter-like - and they

become subject to that will as if they have

been enchanted.

When light is used in the experiment

instead of the electron, the same things

are observed. That is, the light sometimes

acts like a particle and sometimes like a

wave. When the experiments are done

with atoms, whose masses are quite

large compared to electrons, the same

weird results are obtained. Thus, the

characteristic of luminosity, which

entails being in more than one place

at the same time, can become manifest

even in the dimension of atoms. However,

when the experiment is done with bullets

from an automatic gun, the bullets act

like particles no matter how small the

bullets are. That is, when matter exceeds

the dimensions of atoms, it loses the

characteristic of luminosity.

One theory that is put forward to explain

this fact that subatomic particles can

be in more than one place at the same

time, is the theory of parallel universes.

According to this theory, particles are

present not only in the universe that

we know, but also in numerous ghostly

universes that are intertwined with

our universe. According to this theory,

particles shuttle among these multiple

universes. When they disappear in one,

they appear in others. This interpretation

of quantum mechanics illustrates that

very unparsimonious ideas need to be

proposed, if the notion of luminosity is

ignored.

Subatomic particles like electrons and

neutrinos, which are the building blocks

of matter, act more like waves (although

they are referred to as particles). As

such, they are in no given place, but

are in fact in a distribution of many

places. Therefore, in the subatomic

world, subtlety is dominant rather than

density. If one takes into consideration

Said Nursis view that the source of the

existence of matter is the vibration of

a luminous Divine power, it is not at all

surprising that luminosity is essential in

that micro-universe. The problem is not

in the clearly observed subtlety of the

particles but in the density of minds. It is

significant that the Higgs particle, which

is claimed to be the essential building

block of the universe, is dubbed the God

particle. A luminous mind is necessary in

order to be able to see and to understand

will form on the rear wall. This series of

bands will be dark at the middle of the wall

and lighter toward the sides of the wall.

Importantly, when waves pass through to

the rear wall, a single series of bands will

form instead of two distinct bands.

When the above experiment is repeated

with an electron gun, in the case of just

one slit, the electron marks that form

on the rear wall form a single band

right behind the slit, just like the tennis

balls. Thus, electrons act like small balls.

However, when there are two slits in the

front wall, a single series of interference

bands will form on the rear wall, just as

was the case with the waves of water.

Thus, electrons pass through the same

hole at the same time when there are two

slits, just like waves. When the experiment

is repeated with only one electron, a band

of interference forms on the back wall

and this confirms that the electron passes

through the same slit at the same time,

just like a wave. Thus, electrons start their

action as particles, but when they see

That is, in the subatomic world, the concepts of both spaceand time lose their meanings; the property of timelessness andspacelessness comes to the forefront.


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15

will free physics of these paradoxes,

since luminosity can accommodate

timelessness and spacelessness. It is

interesting that the laws of physics,

such as the law of gravity, are luminous;

they are everywhere, though they are

nowhere. As long as the rigid materialistic

approach accepts the existence of laws

of physics, the concept of luminosity is

accepted implicitly. Claiming otherwise

betrays sciences claim to objectivity.

Conclusion

Quantum theory abolished the sovereignty

of Newtonian mechanics in the subatomic

world, and invalidated much of what we

thought we knew about matter. The first

victim of quantum mechanics was the

understanding that everything consisted

of matter and that everything could

be explained by deterministic laws of

physics. The discovery that subatomic

particles can be in more than one place

at the same time, and that they can

communicate faster than the speed of

light, has left physicists confounded. These

prominent physicists, who were thought

to understand everything, turned out to

understand nothing. Efforts to explain

these new phenomena through ideas like

the existence of parallel universes, have

satisfied few.

In summary, matter becomes subtle in

the subatomic world it begins to take on

luminous properties like spacelessness

and timelessness. The most objective

approach that needs to be taken is the

confession and declaration by science

that luminosity is a real phenomenon,

and that beings can be both material

and luminous, not solely material. The

property of luminosity is dominant

in every level of the subatomic world.

Luminosity can easily settle many of

the issues that have so far baffled minds

conditioned by deterministic philosophy,

and it should therefore take its rightful

place as an indispensable concept in

science.

such a semi-luminous particle that

comes from luminosity and goes toward

density. As particles move away from the

luminous source, which is their field, and

as particles unite and form larger objects,

density occurs and the rules of the visible

realm start to become dominant.

The double-slit experiment explained

above shows that the concept of place has

collapsed in the subatomic or quantum

world. Another famous experiment in

quantum mechanics is the entanglement

experiment, which shows that the

concept of time has also collapsed.

Subatomic particles produced at the

same time are always in contact with one

another, no matter how far away they are

from one another. For instance, if one

of two electrons that are in the state of

entanglement is exposed to something,

its twin reacts immediately even if they

are light years away from each other.

That is, time virtually stops and a timeless

communication takes place. Einstein

opposed the idea of entanglement

because it was always thought impossible

to exceed the speed of light (which is

certainly true for supra-atomic, dense

beings).

But the phenomenon of entanglement,

which has become one of the basic

concepts of quantum mechanics, was

tested at distances of more than 10

kilometres and it was confirmed to be

true. That is, in the subatomic world, the

concepts of both space and time lose their

meanings; the property of timelessness

and spacelessness comes to the forefront.

People often restrict their thinking

to that which accords with their own

knowledge and experience. They have

difficulty accepting things that they have

not personally experienced with their

own senses. When human knowledge is

validated through numerous observations

and experiments, it is expressed as

laws. For instance, what precludes the

existence of perpetual motion machines

is the law of the conservation of energy,

which is a law of physics. However, these

universal laws and principles can hide

some subtleties, and there may be more

pervasive laws hidden in the depths of the

subtleties that are overlooked.

For instance, according to Newtons laws,

which form the foundation of classical

physics, time and space are independent:

the watch of a person on the ground and

the watch of a person flying on a plane

at a speed of a 1000 km per hour, show

the same time. However, when the speed

of light is approached, time starts to

slow down. In a satellite that orbits the

earth at a speed of 30,000 km per hour,

the time difference caused by this speed

has to be taken into consideration. That

is, in situations where very high speeds

are involved, we need to refer to the

principles of Einsteins modern theory of

relativity, rather than Newtons classical

physics rules.

It is certain from experience that an apple

can only be in one place at a given time.

If it is in the fridge, it cannot be on the

table; if it is on the table, it means it is no

longer in the fridge. However, as has been

explained above, at the level of subatomic

particles, this fundamental fact starts to

become invalid. In one of the classical

experiments in particle physics, there is

a piece of paper with two holes in it; an

electron passes through the two holes

in the paper at the same time. Here, the

one thing is in more than one place at the

same time. This phenomenon of being in

more than one place at once, which our

minds have difficulty in understanding,

is one of the basic principles of quantum

mechanics. However, it is really difficult to

understand this when beings are regarded

as purely material.

The materialistic approach, which limits

beings to things that can be measured

and observed in laboratories, is stuck,

due to its paradoxes. However, the honest

acceptance of the existence of luminosity


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16

BEDIUZZAMAN SAID NURSI AND

THEJOURNEYTO THE DIVINE

Assoc. Prof. Yamina Mermer

Why are we here on earth? To worship

God, says the Quran. This is a profound

response that is worthy of exploring. What

is meant by worship? Are we supposed to

live in the mosque, or a monastery? Who

is God really and how come my purpose

and fulfillment is tied to worshipping

and adoring God? What if I decline this

purpose, what are the consequences?

In this essay, we shall explore these key

questions with the help of a wonderful

Muslim scholar, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi.

Said Nursi, like many Muslim teachers

before him, engaged with the Quran

with an open heart and intellect. As an

interpretation of this key verse, what

Nursi offers is really a journey of the

spirit, the heart, the intellect and other

faculties. He shows how knowing and

worshipping God is a journey that leads

to joy and fulfillment in this world and in

the next. He also insightfully talks about

the consequences of not worshipping

God; human life without it is miserable

and loses all meaning and peace. In what

follows, lets look at how this is so: how

worship of God fulfills a human being, and

how the alternative paths lead to dead

ends. As it turns out, we have two basic

choices before us at every turn.

A Choice with ImplicationsFrom the outset, Nursi explains that there

are two ways of being in the world. The

first is being aware of ones vulnerable self

(ajz and faqr), embracing this vulnerability

and acknowledging with gratitude ones

dependence on the Sustainer. The second

way of being is to be in denial of ones

vulnerability and struggle with its reality

and attempt to become self-sufficient.

Note that in both cases our reality is the

same: we are vulnerable. In other words,

we do not choose to be vulnerable, it is

a given; we just choose how to respond

to it. The first way is the hearts mode

of being while the second is the nafs or

egos mode of being. As the ego is purified

from its illusions of self-sufficiency and

the faculties entrusted to it are employed

in the name of the Creator, they start to

display a variety of worship, thanks and

praise. Then, the seeker of God gradually

transforms and enters a new mode of

being and knowing under the leadership

of the heart. This transformation affects

all human senses. Nursi reminds us that

all senses and subtle faculties (laif), like

the intellect (aql), the spirit (ruh), mystery

(sirr), and the ego (nafs) have their calling

for worship.

And I have not created the Jinns and human beings to any end other than

that they may [know and] worship Me. (Quran, 51:56)


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Note that in both cases our reality is the same: we are

vulnerable. In other words, we do not choose to be

vulnerable, it is a given; we just choose how to respond to it.

Hence the intellect, to which the faculty

of reasoning is ascribed, operates either

in the modality of the ego or that of

the heart. Under the spell of the ego,

we mistakenly believe that we exist

separately and independently of our

creator. We rely on our own extremely

limited power and strength to live our life

and as a consequence, we bear the burden

of constant fears of the unknown, of the

uncontrollable, and of death. In contrast,

in the heart mode, we free our faculty of

reasoning from the illusions of the ego

and put it at the service of the heart. We

are saved from the troubles of an intellect

that is stuck with unreasoning. Indeed, as

Nursi explains, Know that ideas cannot

be enlightened without the light of the

heart.

Now, how is it that following the heart

yields light and insight, and following

the ego yields darkness and illusion? Let

us open this up further through another

verse that Nursi insightfully interprets.

When commenting on the following verse,

Indeed, God has purchased from the

believers their lives (anfusahum) and their

properties for that they will have paradise.

Nursi explains that the possessions of

ones life and what they include such as

the eye, the tongue and the intellect are

a trust from the Creator. If they are not

sold back to the Compassionate and

Omnipotent Creator, i.e. used in His name,

Assoc. Prof. Yamina MermerCarthage College, USA


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18

they will be employed for the sake of the

ego and thereby will be ruined.

For instance, if the intellect functions for

the sake of the ego, it will become only

a troublemaker. Indeed, when it turns

away from the heart modality, the human

intellect only multiplies suffering. After

all, only when we use our mind, we sense

in one separation that we experience

the news of all future separations. Thus,

Nursi notes, the intellect becomes an ill-

omened, noxious and debilitating tool that

will burden your weak person with all the

sad sorrows of the past and the terrifying

fears of the future; it will descend to the

rank of an inauspicious and destructive

tool.

In contrast, if the intellect is employed

in Gods name it will unlock the infinite

treasures of compassion and the meanings

of wisdom in the universe. It will become

a precious key helping uncover the

indications to infinite beauty and majesty

throughout the universe. Thus, instead of

being a nuisance tool that we constantly

try to avoid, the intellect will rise to the

station of Divine guide (murshid rabban)

preparing its owner for eternal bliss.

Likewise, if the eye, which is a window

through which the spirit looks out on this

world, is employed on behalf of the ego, it

will gaze on transient and impermanent

beauties and sceneries and sink to the

level of being a servant of the nafs. In

contrast, if it is employed in the name of

the Creator, our capacity to see will rise to

the rank of contemplator of the cosmos, a

witness to the miracles of Divine art. Nursi

also gives the example of the tongue.

When employed on behalf of the ego,

its function simply becomes shoveling

stuff into the stomach, after a very brief

enjoyment. But if it is sold to the Generous

Provider, the sense of taste will rise to the

rank of a skilled and grateful overseer

of the treasuries of Divine compassion.

That is, even though ones enjoyment

of delicious food will be still brief and

passing, it will enable the person to get

a glimpse of an eternal delight: namely,

the undying mercy and power of the

Generous One.

The two modes of human attitude to life,

namely embracing ones dependence on

God versus resisting the fact that we are

utterly dependent, are also connected to

the two faces of the universe. According

to Nursi, every thing has two aspects

(wajh), each of which corresponds to each

of the two modes of being in the world.

One looks to the malakt, which is like a

mirror reflecting the beautiful qualities

of God, the other is the transient side of

the world, i.e. its mulk side, and it is like

the dark side of a mirror. The former

is beautiful; it is an arable field of the

hereafter as mentioned in a hadith, a

saying of the Prophet. To love this aspect

of things is the means to attain knowledge

of God and worship Him. Note how

worship is much broader than we might

have imagined: it encompasses all the


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experiences and actions through which

we get to know our Creator, who is the

Artist behind all beauty in life.

These two aspects of things, the mulk and

malakut, are the result of two ways of

being and perceiving the world: the so-

called harfi (indicative) vision and the ism

(nominal) one. Nursi explains that the ego

modality of being sees only the transient

aspect of the world and its logic is ism;

it is unaware that every thing with all

its qualities exists only through God and

hence points to Him. It looks at things not

on account of their Maker and Sustainer,

i.e. not as signs (ayt) of God. For instance,

in looking at the phenomena in the world,

instead of saying, How beautifully they

have been made, this ism perspective

says, How beautiful they are.

This ismperspective of the ego modality

is the default perspective, so to speak; the

one we find ourselves in the beginning.

This default mode of the ego is then

interrupted by the heart. Under the

thrust of the hearts existential questions

such as, Who am I? Where am I coming

from? And where am I going? we are

invited to look for answers. As we cannot

reach satisfactory answers through our

own resources, like Prophet Abraham

(upon him be peace), we feel the need for

seeking out answers beyond ourselves

and we become receptive to Divine

revelation. In other words, Nursi is clear

that the answers are revealed or gifted

to us through the scripture given to the

prophets. And the intellect commands

that this revelation be followed, because

everything it says is reasonable. In other

words, once the revelation reveals

the answers, the intellect can indeed

understand and confirm them.

Thus, it is the Quranic verses that point

to the beautiful malakut aspect of things

behind the mirror of the mulk or apparent

aspect. The Quran instructs us with a new

way of looking at the world and events, as

signs that carry messages from the Divine.

This is what Nursi terms the harfvision. In

order for the harfi vision to unfold within

us, we need to gradually purify the soul

or ego of its false claims of independence

from its Maker. That is, we need to let

go of our appropriation of what God has

given us as trust. As we are awakened, we

realise that our egos dogmatic baggage

and fancies fall apart upon questioning.

Through this questioning the intellect

transforms into a faculty of the heart,

which unlike the ego, is sensitive to

beauty and to the pain of its transience.

At this point, it is clear that intending

to question our assumptions about our

existence and what we take for granted

is crucial. Intending itself entails that

awareness. This is why Nursi gives great

importance to cultivating awareness

through reflection (tafakkur), as well as

remembrance (ikr), reminding that acts

of worship without awareness become

mere habit. And, through awareness

of the One who sustains our existence,

mundane acts become acts of worshipa

notion that further enriches the concept

of worship mentioned in the Quranic

verse, which describes the purpose of

human existence.

Indeed, reflection plays a vital role in

knowing God. Nursi asserts that the

reasoning heart has to reflect by means

of the signs or verses of God. That is, as

the reasoning heart grasps the very logic

of the Quranic verses, it will see through

them and reflect under their guidance.

When we give up the ismmode of being,

and surrender to the Creator through

the teachings of the Quranic verses, they

become like buraq or a heavenly mount,

for our heart and spirit to gaze upon

the reality of the universe, which is the

Divine attributes of perfection. There

starts an ongoing process, where we

gradually leave our prejudices and pre-

conceived ideas aside and listen to the

Quranic verses. In turn, the ayt will start

speaking to us and revealing themselves

to our heart. At each stage of this process,

the ego will be purified with the help of

the ayt. As we attain to a higher level of

self-purification, we further increase our

receptivity to the disclosure of Gods self-

disclosure, and so on ad infinitum.

This default mode of the ego is interrupted by the heart.

Under the thrust of the hearts existential questions such

as, Who am I? Where am I coming from? And where am Igoing? we are invited to look for answers.


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The Option of the Heart

Each human being has thus a momentous

choice before him: harkening to the

heart and being open to infinity, or being

stuck with the ego and its illusionary

finite vision. Let us reemphasise that it

is the Divine messages revealed through

the prophetsthe final one being the

Quranthat actually awakens us to the

alternative to the egos vision. For Nursi,

Quranic verses reveal and display the

reality (haqqa) as it is. They teach how

to see the malakt aspect within mulk.

They teach the meaning of the universe,

and all beings and events; they instruct

in true wisdom and knowledge. A human

being with his restricted capacity cannot

comprehend the truth. However, from the

vantage point that the universal view of

the Quranic verses provides, he can look

at universal truth through the verses to

the extent they unfold to him. And, they

unfold unto him to the extent he purifies

himself of his false beliefs and opens his

heart to listen and remember.

The Quran, Nursi writes, is Divine speech

in regard to Absolute Sovereignty

(rubbiy) and it comes from the greatest

name of God and from the greatest level

of every one of His beautiful names. It

is a source of genuine knowledge. This

means that the Quran reveals how it is

to be understood and used. If one tries

to understand the Quran with his own

ism logic, he will only project his own

understanding onto the Quran. Once one

becomes aware of this fact and starts the

process of purification, he begins to listen

in the name of the Bestower of Knowledge.

Then, the meanings of the Quran start

unfolding to him as it is alluded to in the

verse, None but the pure (of heart) can

touch it. Hence to be a student of the

Quran requires an active posture; merely

reading the words on the page does not

guarantee understanding.

What is worth noting in Nursis work

is that it embodies the harf approach

that the author expounds. That is, Nursi

does not merely talk about the Quranic

approach but demonstrates it in his

exposition of the Quranic verses. He

does not interpret them in the classical

meaning of the word; rather he carefully

listens to their wisdom, interacts with

them and follows their guidance. Indeed,

in his writings, he very often talks about

his encounter with Quranic verses. For

instance, he says that the verse Every

living creature shall taste death entered

his ear, penetrated to the depths of his

heart and established itself there. In that

text, he also explains the meaning that

unfolded in his heart from the indications

of that verse.

It is Nursis commitment to open himself

up to the Quranic verses that is expressed

in his statements such as, It is not I

who speaks in any of the Words (another

name for his Risale-i Nur). Indeed, Nursi

says that the Risale-i Nur was bestowed

to him as a result of need; his share in it

is only his intense need and his seeking

(talab), and his extreme weakness and his

beseeching (taaru). As he put it, The ill is

mine, the cure is the Qurans.


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human spirit. This purpose of life is the

state of finding our true freedom and

fulfillment by submitting to and being

a conscious mirror to Gods beautiful

namesthose beautiful attributes of God

that constitutes the ground of existence.

Hence, the Quranic notion that we have

been created for worship means that we

have been created to revel in and enjoy

Gods beauty. It also means to gratefully

and appreciatively reflect Gods beauty in

our way of being in the world, and in our

way of dealing with others.

Conclusion

Thus, in the Risale-i Nur, Nursi describes

in detail the journeying of the nafs, the

intellect, the heart and other faculties

towards truth. The journey for all faculties

consists in detaching themselves from

the nafsand entering the service of the

heart. The latter will then mount the

verses of the Quran like buraqs and reach

heights that are otherwise unattainable.

From there, the spirit and heart will

soar to the realm of the beautiful names

and attributes of God. The seeker of

God will then realise that the seemingly

meaningless and horrifying flux of life is

a purposeful, worthwhile and satisfying

experience. He will know and love God as

the sole Sustainer, as the Compassionate

Provider, as the Merciful and Forgiving

Guide. He will thank God and praise Him

with all His beautiful names. Thus, the

seeker worships God alone and asks God

alone for help.

In sum, the aim of human life as

worshipping God fulfills human needs

and brings much needed peace to the

The seeker of God will then realise that the seemingly meaningless and horrifyingflux of life is a purposeful, worthwhile and satisfying experience.


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KNOW THYSELF

AND BESURPRISEDWhoever knows himself, knows his Lord,

Prophet Muhammad is reported to have

said. In this essay, we intend to undertake

a journey of self-discovery, which willlead us to the exciting destination of

encountering the One. As our main

tour guide in this journey, we shall take

Bediuzzaman Said Nursis insightful

reflections on the Quran.

Who are we? In answering this question,

the starting point is our needs. Nursi

repeatedly observes that human beings

have needs that are spread all over the

world. For instance, if we were to jot

down our physical needs, the grocery

list would be so long, and would require

us to go for shopping to all corners of

the universe. Even if the vegetables and

fruits we are looking for come from a

farm nearby, we need much more than a

farm. We need the bees who pollinate the

plants we eat, the bacteria who work for

the recovery of necessary nutrients in the

soil, and the solar system and seasons that

bring in the sunshine and the rain as well

as the air. It is not an exaggeration at all

to say that when a human being breathes,

eats, drinks and walks, the entire universe,

with various species, ecological systems

and laws of nature are implicated in the

background.

Moreover, we are not only physically but

also emotionally connected to the rest of

the world. Human beings have immense

capacity to relate to, care about, and love

so many beings, from our close friends to

the beautiful fish deep in the ocean, fromthe sunrise and to the rings of Saturn.

Unlike other creatures, the capacities of

human beings have no natural limit. Our

capacity for love and attachment, for

instance, is boundless. The list of what

we can desire, love or appreciate has no

limit. In fact, even in terms of physical

enjoyment human beings have the most

intense connection to the world. Our

taste buds, for instance, have the widest

spectrum among all animals. Unlike other

animals, we dont just consume certain

foods; we are able to enjoy an incredible

variety of foods.

And, with our immense capacity to love

and connect, we easily get attached to

any creature that displays beauty and

perfection, and anything that offers

kindness and benefit to us. Did you ever

feel like you could not love another cool

thing or one more nice person because

your love capacity was exceeded or

saturated? Unlikely! Our human heart

can absorb an infinite variety of loves.

Moreover, the human heart has a deeply

rooted longing for eternity. This strong

love for eternity lies under all of our loves:

when we love anyone or anything, we

always bracket out our beloveds finitude.

Could you genuinely get attached to

someone if you saw him as someone

destined to leave you sooner or later? Nay,

the human heart cannot truly love but theeternal or the semblance of eternity.

In sum, our journey of knowing who we

are first takes us to the realisation that

what makes us human and connects us

to the rest of the universe is our profound

neediness and yearning for eternityfor

endurance of fulfillment and happiness.

As Nursi repeatedly notes, it is this

comprehensive neediness that enables

us to appreciate all the beings around us

that meet our needs, and make it possible

for us to fall in love with so many things

around us. Each human being is thus a

microcosm, a small being that contains

the entire universe in itself.

Now, in the second step of our journey

into who we are, we encounter a deep

sadness. It seems like our endless needs

yield endless suffering. We have so many

physical, emotional, intellectual and

spiritual needs, and the world tantalisingly

gives us a taste without satisfying us.

Moreover, given the continuous flux

in the world, all our beloveds depart

without a farewell: aging, degeneration,

separation and death prove to be the end

of all beauty and love. Consequently, our

boundless neediness and yearning brings

us boundless pain.

Dr. Ummeye Isra Yazicioglu

[Abraham] said: I do not love those that set. (Quran, 6:76)


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Nursi never loses sight of the fact that

our sorrows come precisely from

being human: only a human being fully

connected with the rest of the universe

can feel short when he cannot have all.

Only a human being who feels connected

to others can be hurt by the sadness of

others or injustice done to others. And,

only a human being who can yearn for

eternity will be hurt by finitude. As long

as we do not attempt to suppress our

humanity by being blind to our needs and

vulnerability, this sadness is incredibly

meaningful. Our heart cries out, like

Abraham in the Quran: I do not love

those that set.

Thus, in the second step of our journey,

we see how our hearts capacity to love

and connect becomes a source of pain.

Even our great intellect, which enables us

to think and remember, becomes a painful

tool. After all, only a thinking being can

see on the face of one separation that

other separations are imminent, and that

someones death announces everyone

elses death. As Nursi notes, the intellect

in this second step of the journey can

turn into an ill-omened, noxious and

debilitating tool that will burden your

weak person with all the sad sorrows of

the past and the terrifying fears of the

future; it will descend to the rank of an

inauspicious and destructive tool.

Moreover, the intense human connection

to the world, and the love for beauty,

perfection and pleasure becomes

unbearable because the beauty seems

fleeting, the perfection seems unattainable

and all the pleasures of life are tainted

with temporariness or fana. Indeed,

since deep down we long for eternity, all

our pleasures as well as our virtues are

dependent on it. When we realise that the

world is finite, our human ability to care

and appreciate fades. Why care about a

world that treacherously leaves you, why

worry about the happiness of others if

there is nothing you can do for them, and

why be committed to our loved ones if

all is to vanish soon? In fact, human love

for beauty can even metamorphose into

hatred.

In order to console ourselves in the face

of impending separation, as the lovers of

beauty, we can start cursing it and feeling

miserable about life, which had excited

Dr. Ummeye Isra YaziciogluSaint Josephs University, USA


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us so much in the beginning. Nursi tells

of a symbolic story to clarify how we may

end up here. One time a famous beautiful

woman expelled from her presence a man

who was deeply in love with her. The man,

who was hurt by this separation, consoled

himself by denying his infatuation with

her beauty and insulted her as ugly. His

insult on his former love is not shocking.

For human beings easily become hostile

to that which they cannot reach, and hate

the beauty that is unattainable. Hence,

as Nursi perceptively notes, A human

being would only be able to cure the deep

wounds caused by eternal separation

from an Absolute Beauty that he loves

and whose value he appreciates through

enmity towards it, being vexed with, and

denying it.

Now, at the end of this second step, we

realise that we end up with contradictions.

Our precious human capacities, including

our comprehensive connection with

the world and our capacity to think,

seem to bring us nothing but suffering.

Moreover, we end up equating the beauty

in the world with ugliness. Fortunately,

we have very good reasons to question

these contradictions. First, the abundant

wisdom reflected in nature challenges

the contradictory conclusion that all our

human capacities are useless. Moreover,

the world displays too much beauty to be,

in reality, thinly veiled ugliness. The pain

and disillusionment that we experience

as human beings must mean something

else, and indeed it does. At this second

step of the journey of knowing the self, we

have encountered the dark night of the

soul. As we pursue further this darkness,

authentic to our reality and taking into

account the heavenly guidancethe last

version of which is the Quranwe get

glimpses of a wonderful dawn.

The paradox and the pain we ended up

with at the second step of the journey is a

sign that we made a mistake along the way.

As we review our steps in the journey, we

note that the first step of recognising our

intense neediness, and our capacity to be

curious about, to relate to and to love the

world was fine. There is no mistake about

that and there is no way to do away with

our intense neediness and capacities as

humans. We swerved only in the second

step, in interpreting our comprehensive

needs and connections. For we thought

we were to try to fulfill our needs on our

own, and to fall in love with things that

seemed to display beauty and benefit.

Instead, the light of the Quran shows us

that our needs and loves are actually

signs, pointing beyond this world to the

Eternal One. They are our mounts in a

journey into genuine happiness and joy

through connection to the One.

Indeed, our endless needs overwhelm us

only when we surmise that we depend on

our tiny will and the rest of the creatures

to fulfill them. Such an interpretation is

very stressful: how can we ensure that

the world works in a way that meets

our needs, and that this passing world

somehow satisfies our endless desires?

It is a scary and painful thought. Yet,

hunger is terrifying only when we think

that resources are limited and we are

constantly haunted with the perception

of scarcity and the possibility of merciless

starvation. In contrast, when we realise

we are seated at a great feast, our hunger

becomes a privilege, an opportunity to

truly enjoy the banquet!

Similarly, our needs become a liability

only when we think we are just randomly

thrown into a world of scarcity to

struggle on our own. Our needs and

human weaknesses become our painful

enemies only when we forget that they

are given to us for some lofty purpose,

by someone Merciful, Powerful and Wise.

In fact, this pain is an invitation for us to

heed the voice of the revelation, and take

a moment to reflect Why do we crave for

so many things beyond our control? Why

do we yearn for eternity if we are merely

finite beings? These questions take us to

our key transportation, so to speak, in our

journey. Our needs and yearnings actually

connect us to the source of our existence,

the Generous Provider.

Indeed, our comprehensive needs become

our travel pass into so many ways of

experiencing the beautiful attributes of

the Eternal One. With hunger we get to

enjoy Gods generosity manifested in

food, through weakness we enjoy being

taken care of, through fears we rejoice in

safety, and through our need for love we

enjoy the Loving Ones gifts of family and

friends. Indeed, our worries regarding

our past and future and about the world

around us, our yearning for eternity,

and our diverse and infinite needs all

become tools to enjoy the Divine gifts.

Nursi gives the metaphor of an organism

producing joy and gratitude to explain

the wisdom behind intense human

neediness and vulnerability: The human

being is an organism who is grieved

with thousands of different sorrows

and receives pleasure in thousands of

different ways. Despite his utter weakness,

he has innumerable enemies, physical

and spiritual, and despite his infinite

poverty, he has countless needs, external

and inner, and is a wretched creature

continuously suffering the blows of death

and separation. Yet, through belief and

worship, he at once becomes con

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Reflect Magazine 2013