Self-Sacrifice in the Qur'an's Moral Teachings: The Companions' Self-Sacrifice in

Giving Alms

In many respects, the Companions led very difficult lives, for they were the first Muslims in a very traditional society of hostile unbelievers. Thinking that their ancestral religion would be harmed, the unbelievers spared no effort to silence the believers, divert them from their faith, and even kill them.

Subjected to all sorts of psychological pressure, cruelty, torture, and accusations, they lived much of their lives under the threat of death and, as revealed in the Qur'an, struggled with terrible fear, starvation, and oppression. This treatment lasted for years, during which all business, trade, and sometimes even social relations were severed. In addition, some of their families and tribes excluded them. Sometimes they could find nothing to eat, and thus had to endure starvation and thirst, as well as cold and the sicknesses that such conditions cause. But they endured all of these things willingly and courageously, for they knew that Allah was testing them and that if they were successful, they would win His approval:

By acting in unity, and with a spirit of solidarity, not to mention using all of their possessions in His path, they overcame their adversities. They did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives and possessions, and were examplary sacrificers of their own interests. Their total belief in Allah and the Hereafter prevented them from considering giving what they had to others as a loss; on the contrary, they regarded each opportunity to do so as an opportunity to win His love and approval. As Allah says:

Allah also informs the important role of piety and pure intention:

Someone with many possessions can find many occasions for sacrificial giving, while someone with more restricted means may have more limited opportunities. But if their intentions are pure, the latter group's sacrificial giving will also be well-rewarded, for one's reward in the Hereafter depends upon one's sincerity.

When we look at the Companions' deeds, we must realize that their sincerity was more important than what or how much they gave. All of them strove with whatever they had:

At a time when the unbelievers forced the Muslims to endure the constant threat of starvation, thirst, cold, sickness, oppression, and torture, they donated their vineyards and gardens, wells, houses and food, and material possessions. Talha ibn Ubaydullah, mentioned above, was a prime example of this attitude. At a time when Muslims were in greatest need, he bought a well and offered it to them: So that the Muslims would not suffer thirst during the battle of Dhil Qarada, Talha bought a well and donated it to the faithful. At that time, buying and donating a well was an act of enormous generosity. By himself, he fed the combatants during the Battle of 'Usra. His daily income was a thousand pieces of gold. He watched over the orphaned, met the needs of the poor, and helped the helpless. He gave money to the needy. All of the needs of the Banu Taym [tribe] were met with his help. Talha found husbands for their widows and paid the debts of the indebted. Abu Talha, who came from one of Madinah's richest families, gave all he had to win Allah's approval and showed the same fine moral qualities: Malik related to me that Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talha heard Anas ibn Malik say: "Abu Talha had the greatest amount of property in palm-trees among the Ansar in Madinah. His dearest piece of property was Bayruha, which was in front of the mosque. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to go into it and drink from the pleasant water that was in it."

Anas continued: "When the verse 'You will not obtain rightness of action until you expend of what you love,' (Surat al-Baqara: l76), Abu Talha went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said: 'O Messenger of Allah. Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, has said: "You will not obtain rightness of action until you expend of what you love." The property which I love the best is Bayruha. It is sadaqa [alms] for Allah. I hope for its good and for it to be stored up with Allah. Place it wherever you wish, O Messenger of Allah.'"46 Another Companion noted for his generous spirit was Sa`d ibn Ubada. When our Prophet moved to Madinah, he spent seven months in his house. Sa`d prayed to Allah for the means to be generous, and his self-sacrifice is related in the following episode: In the years of famine and drought, Sa`d ibn Ubada provided food for the people, helped those stranded by the wayside, welcomed guests in the finest manner, helped in the times of want and need, and assisted the tribes in reaching their homes. At the Garad expedition, which took place in 627, he gave the army ten camel loads of dates as provisions, and gave food to the entire army during its campaign against the Banu Qurayza which took place immediately after the Battle of Khandaq. Sa`d ibn Ubada also owned a castle. Here, he gave food and drink to 80 poor Companions without families, known as the People of Suffa. He also had a well dug and placed it at the Muslims' disposal. S`ad ibn Ubada and Sa`d ibn Muadh, two of the most eminent members of the Aws and Khazraj tribes, rendered great services to Islam. Their services and the sacrifices they made for Muslims were truly astonishing. They rendered the greatest services with their property and lives, with nothing left they did not sacrifice for this purpose. Sa`d ibn Ubada, one of the most prominent Companions, always served Islam and encouraged Madinah's Muslims to sacrifice for and serve Islam. Al-Arqam ibn Abi'l-Arqam, who belonged to one of Mecca's richest and most influential families, was one of the first people to accept the Prophet's message. At this time, when the small Muslim community was praying in secret, Arqam offered his house, located on the Ka`bah's west side, to our Prophet for the Muslims' use. This was a great blessing for the Muslims. Our Prophet and about 1015 believers moved into this house and used it as a safe place in which they could pray and from which they could spread Islam. They stayed in that house for three years, delivering the message and welcoming new converts. This house played an important role in the history of Islam, for as many as forty Companions, including Umar, stayed there. When we consider the Muslims' difficult situation at that time, we can better understand just how important Arqam's generosity was. Abu Bakr, in addition to his fine moral character, is another excellent example of self-sacrificial behavior. He willingly gave all of his possessions at a time when Muslims were perhaps most in need, in order to strengthen them and aid the spread of Islam. In fact, he was the first person to give alms specifically for this cause: In times of peace and of campaign, Abu Bakr never abandoned the Prophet. He always accompanied him. He was always at his side, ready to sacrifice his property and life. Abu Bakr, our Prophet's first successor [caliph], was ever at the forefront in giving up his assets in order to strengthen the religion and fighting the enemy. When the Prophet told everyone to help out in the Battle of Tabuk, everyone donated a part of their property. Then Abu Bakr handed over his property. The Prophet turned to him and asked: "O Abu Bakr, have you left anything at home?" [Abu Bakr replied:] "O, Prophet, I have left nothing at home. I have brought it all here. I have left them with Allah and His Prophet."

The Prophet also asked Umar, who had donated half of his possessions, whether he had left anything for his family. "Yes, I have brought only half of my possessions," he replied. "The other half I have left for them." When Umar heard that Abu Bakr had brought all that he possessed, he said: "He has surpassed me in all auspicious deeds in which we have contended."

Although Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf was one of the richest

Companions, he had no love of possessions and attached no importance to them or to his wealth. For him, living as a Muslim was the only thing that mattered. He fought alongside our Prophet in all of the battles, gave away many of his possessions to help the Muslim community, freed his captives after the battle of Uhud, and distributed a lot of his gold among them. He provided many horses and loaded camels for the Tabuk campaign. Ibn Abbas relates: Six months after returning from Ta'if, I went to the Prophet. Allah commanded him to embark on the Tabuk campaign. This was at the time of the fiercest heat in Hijaz. There were large numbers of hypocrites. Moreover, the people of the Suffa had also increased considerably at that time. Staying in a house next to the mosque, they survived on the alms given by the Prophet and other believers. When hostilities broke out, the Muslims divided them among themselves. Those Muslims with sufficient means agreed to feed four people or to militarily equip one. Then they all went off to fight together. In this campaign, the Prophet commanded the Muslims to spend their assets in Allah's way and earn His approval. They abided by that command and spent their assets in order to attain His mercy. Mounts were provided for some poor Muslims, but some were left on foot. That day, Abd arRahman ibn Awf donated 200 uqiyya of money [1 uqiyya is a measure of weight equivalent to 40 dirhams]. This was the day's greatest donation. The Prophet asked him: "Have you left anything for your family?" He replied: "Yes, I have left them more than what I have given." When the Prophet asked: "What have you left them?" Abd ar-Rahman replied: "The goodwill and auspiciousness promised by Allah and His Messenger."

Like all of the Companions, Uthman obeyed the Prophet's call during the Tabuk campaign. He equipped one-third of the army and spent, in this way, more than others for His cause. In fact, one account says that after his contribution, the army needed nothing else. Once when there was a famine in Madinah, Uthman bought for the Companions a 100-camel caravan loaded with wheat from Damascus. Later, he distributed all of it free of charge to the poor and the Companions in Madinah. He then killed the camels and distributed the meat to the poor. Another Companion known for his generosity was Abd-Allah ibn Umar, the son of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. One account mentions his moral character:

Abd-Allah ibn Umar did not die until he emancipated a thousand people. He gave anything that he began to love to the needy for the sake of Allah. In this way, he labored according to:

54 Allah announces the following good news to all Muslims who show the same moral qualities as the Companions did:

As we have said from the beginning, self-sacrifice is a responsibility for every believer. This understanding requires that believers spend all of their material and spiritual assets to win Allah's approval and that they use their intelligence, conscience, and will to deal with whatever situation comes their way. Throughout their life, they will contend for goodness, be leaders in the Qur'an's morality and piety, be undaunted by any adversity, and call people to goodness and urge them to avoid evil.

Allah has made the believers responsible not only for refining their own moral character, but also for other people as well. To fulfill this responsibility in the best possible way, all believers who fear and respect Allah must work hard to develop a sincere, self-sacrificial moral character. To this end, they must support each other and cooperate among themselves in the face of every kind of hardship:

If they do not obey this command, there will be great disorder in the world:

This kind of help involves relieving the misery of those who are oppressed and treated with cruelty, as well as of destitute women, abandoned children, and anyone who needs help. Establishing the Qur'an's morality among all people will create universal peace and contentment, and will be the source of a great reward in Allah's Sight for those believers who were instrumental in achieving this worthy goal.

In the Qur'an, Allah tells us:

Those who may hope for His mercy and for Paradise are those who have engaged in sincere self-sacrifice throughout their lives, sincerely sought Allah's approval, and have done their best in this endeavor. They know the Qur'an's moral teachings and what their conscience demands of them. Furthermore, they are aware that anyone who disregards these truths will endure inconsolable sorrow in the Hereafter. One day, those who waste their lives pursuing selfish passions will enter the Hereafter. At that moment, they will want to return to this world and undertake acts of self-sacrifice for Allah's sake. They thought that avoiding self-sacrifice was to their advantage; but at that time, they will want to pawn everything that they had amassed to escape the pains of Hell:

These people will describe their sorrow as follows: And that Day Hell is produced, that Day humanity will remember; but how will the remembrance help him? He will say:

But as for those who are given their book in the left hand, they will say:

If only you could see when they are standing before the Fire and saying:

In the span of time allotted for their life in this world, every person should think about these truths and avoid any moral weakness that might endanger his/her eternal life. Those who do not live the morality of Paradise in this world should fear that their next life will be filled with the eternal pain of Hell. However, it is very easy to escape this end and attain the blessings of Paradise, for:

Those believers who spend every moment trying to win Allah's approval have a good life in this world and the Hereafter, as well as His love, friendship, and help. In the Qur'an, He tells us that all good things are for the believers and that they will live forever in Paradise of incomparable beauty:

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi and Self-Sacrifice

Who Is Bediuzzaman Said Nursi? Said Nursi was among the greatest Islamic scholars and men of ideas in recent history. He was born in 1873 in the village of Nurs (Bitlis province) and died in Sanliurfa, Turkey in 1960. He embraced religion at a young age and was accepted in scholarly circles due to his deep knowledge of the positive sciences. From his youth, he was noted for his keen mind, retentive memory, and superior abilities. As a result, he became known as Bediuzzaman, which means "the wonder of the age." Said Nursi saw that the most pressing need in eastern Turkey was education. Desiring to do something about it, he went to Istanbul in 1907 to establish the Madrasat al-Zahra university, where courses in religion and other branches of learning would be taught. His deep learning gained him quick acceptance among Istanbul's scholarly circles, and he began to publish articles in newspapers and magazines and support the government in arguments about freedom and constitutional monarchy. The government was not interested in his request regarding the university. Moreover, it was uneasy about the interest some scholars, students, university teachers, and politicians showed in him and managed to send him first to a mental hospital and then to prison. Shortly after he was released, on July 23, 1908, the second constitution was announced. In Istanbul, he gave speeches on how the concepts of freedom and constitutional monarchy did not contradict Islam, and also sent signed telegraphs to the tribal leaders in eastern Anatolia. But even though his speeches and articles had a calming effect, he was arrested in 1909 on false charges on 31 March incident, but was later released. After this incident, he returned to eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. When World War I broke out, he and his students fought in a territorial militia that he had founded. He served as a volunteer regimental commander and was captured in Russia. After three years in a Siberian prison camp, he escaped and returned to Istanbul. Many of Istanbul's high state officials and scholarly circles were interested in him, and eventually he was made a member of the Islamic Academy. He used his salary to publish and distribute his own books for free. During the occupation of Istanbul, Said Nursi, who defended and supported the national struggle, revealed these forces' true intentions in a brochure entitled Hutuwat-al Sitte (The Six Steps of Satan). As a result, the commander of the British occupying forces ordered that he be found and brought back dead or alive. However, his activities pleased the National Assembly founded in Anatolia, and he was invited to Ankara. Arriving there in 1922, he was given a formal state reception. However, he rejected its request that he become an official public preacher, a member of the Assembly, or the director of the Department of Religious Affairs. In 1925, a man by the name of Sheikh Said rebelled against Ankara. Although Said Nursi had no involvement in the rebellion, he was removed from Van and taken to Burdur, and, later on, exiled to Barla (Isparta province). There, he wrote the greater part of his magnum opus: the Risale-i Nur. In 1934, those who saw the Risales as their greatest obstacle wanted to bring Said Nursi to the center of Isparta, where they could keep him under closer control. He continued his work there. In 1935, the police searched his house and confiscated all of his books. In addition, he was arrested and questioned, but was released when no incriminating evidence could be found. He was arrested again a few days later and questioned about his Risales. After that, he and 120 of his students were sent in military vehicles to prison in Eskisehir. Said Nursi remained in prison during his trial for treason. The Eskisehir Criminal Court sentenced him to 11 months in prison and compulsory residence in Kastamonu; fifteen of his students were sentenced to six months each. In 1943, while he was in Kastamonu under surveillance, he was again arrested on a warrant from the state prosecutor in Isparta. Although he was very ill, he was taken to Ankara and from there to Isparta by train. When the court cases regarding the Risales were combined with those in Denizli, Said Nursi was sent to Denizli. There, he was again isolated in a prison and lived under very difficult conditions. But during the trial, he continued to write the Risales. Later on in 1944, even after he had been acquitted, the government ordered Said

Nursi to be put under house arrest in Emirdag (Afyon province). There, he was placed in a room across the street from the government building and kept under observation. He was not even allowed to go to the mosque, and was constantly followed and watched. This exile was even worse than the one in Denizli. His opponents, who could not silence him legally, tried to poison him. Of the 23 attempts on his life, three occurred in Emirdag. But during these years, his students copied the Risales, both by hand and by machine, and so the message of the Qur'an was communicated to a wide audience. In 1944, when the decision by the Denizli Criminal Court was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Appeals, Said Nursi was released. Every day that passed saw the distribution of the Risales to the public, and this made the government very uneasy. In January 1948, Said Nursi and fifteen of his students were taken from their homes and workplaces and jailed in Afyon. Despite such difficult and trying conditions, Said Nursi continued to publish his works. In December 1948, he was sentenced to 20 months in prison. On appeal, this sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeals. But despite this decree, the Criminal Court in Afyon extended the process for 20 months, all of which Said Nursi spent in prison. He was released in September 1949. But on an order from Ankara, he was held under house arrest in Afyon and was able to return to Emirdag only in December of the same year. In 1951 in Emirdag and almost a year later in Istanbul, two more court cases were opened because of his Genclik Rehberi (A Guide for Youth). At the Istanbul hearing, the court brought the case to a conclusion in his favor. In January 1960, the police did not allow Said Nursi to go to Ankara. So, he went to Isparta. Now 83 and in very bad health, he and his students eventually went to Urfa. Although he was too ill to walk, the police nevertheless entered his hotel room on orders from the Minister of Internal Affairs to return him to Isparta. Under this oppression, Said Nursi died.

His Self-Sacrificial Character Bediuzzaman Said Nursi dedicated his whole life and all of his possessions to winning Allah's approval, and always willingly undertook every act of self-sacrifice that was necessary. He endured circumstances that would have broken most people and was oppressed until the end of his life by those who feared his influence among the people. Brought before various courts several times, he spent about 30 years either in prison or in exile. And yet somehow during all of these trials he managed to complete the 6,000 page Risale-i Nur Collection. Throughout his long life, he never once lost his faith or determination. His courage and patient trust in Allah, as well as his intelligence, perception, insight, mercy, compassion, and sincerity, make him an important example for all Muslims. He saw self-sacrifice as an absolutely necessary part of spreading the Qur'an's moral teachings and expected his students to be just as determined in fulfilling this responsibility: "Yes, my brothers! An infinite resistance, levelheadedness, and an infinite self-sacrifice need to be borne at this time of such terrifying trends and events that will rock the world…" His students practiced the high moral qualities that they learned from him and were determined to spread the teachings of the Qur'an and the Risales through their own self-sacrifical acts and sincerity. Said Nursi and his students remain examples for all Muslims. Working together in a spirit of sincerity and self-sacrifice, they showed, with Allah's permission, that they could overcome all difficulties.

Knowing more about Said Nursi's life is a good way to see what kind of moral character a deep love for Allah can give.

Writing the Risale-i Nur When we look at the lives of Said Nursi and his students, we see how every difficulty can be overcome through cooperation, unity, and self-sacrifice. One of the difficulties that faced Said Nursi was writing the Risale-i Nur Collection, a book that has become a guide for many Muslims traveling the true path, under almost impossible conditions. Said Nursi disregarded whatever obstacles his enemies placed in his path in order to finish the Risales: exile, prison, while fighting on the front during World War I, and during his three years of captivity in a Siberian prison camp. His firm resolve to spread the Qur'an's message among the masses enabled him to persevere and be steadfast in selfsacrifice. In the lecture section of his Buyuk Sozler (The Big Words), we read: This situation of Bediuzzaman is an example to all those who strive for Islam and to all Muslims. In other words, he engages in struggle and service and taqwa [fear and respect of Allah] all together and does not perform one while ignoring another. His being cast into prison through the plans of ruthless and cruel enemies of religion, thrown into solitary confinement, kept in a freezing cold cell and suffering violent cold, the pains of illness, shivering, and the weaknesses stemming from old age did not stop him from writing his books. Hasan Akyol, one of his students imprisoned with him in Afyon, speaks of Said Nursi's determination to continue writing the Risales on whatever material he could find: He would constantly write, from evening until morning, on pieces of paper, notebooks, empty scraps of paper, small pocketbooks, and paper bags. Yet we did not read these as he wrote. He remained alone in the dormitory. That was where he did his writing. In the morning they opened the dormitory, and gave what he had written to forty-five of his students. From morning until evening, they would transcribe what he had written into their own notebooks. They could never finish it. I would sometimes join them and write like them. Tarihce-i Hayat (Bediuzzaman Said Nursi) tells of Said Nursi's selfsacrificial spirit: Bediuzzaman Said Nursi is writing the Risale-i Nur collection under such difficult and adverse conditions that he is subjected to difficulties that no other scholar in history has ever been faced with. Yet since he possesses an unextinguished determination, will, and love of service, he is producing these extraordinary Risale-i Nur works, a great guide on the true path that is enlightening and will enlighten the world of Islam and all of humanity, and that will protect the nation and the country against the monster of communism, the aggression of Freemasonry and atheism, without being worn down, or tiring or losing heart, expending all of his great energies with an incomparable patience and fortitude, abandoning his earthly desires. The writing of the 130-part Risale-i Nur collection is coming to an end after 23 years. Since the Risales were written at a time of very great need, every treatise bears the provisions of a most healthy antidote and medicine, and having such an effect cures a great many people of spiritual diseases. Anyone who reads the Risale-i Nur will form the impression that it has been written just for him/her, and will reflect feeling a great enthusiasm and a strong need. Such works are emerging [from these writings] that Qur'anic truths that will suffice and respond to the requirements of all people of this and future centuries with regard to faith, Islam, the mind, the soul, the heart, and the intellect are being bestowed …58

One of his students relates Said Nursi's words about self-sacrifice: One day he said this while speaking about self-sacrifice: "My current students are more self-sacrificing than those who sacrificed themselves by casting themselves into the fire in the east when fighting the Russians with me. This is because it is not easy to sacrifice an entire lifetime. If someone casts himself into the fire, he/she is at once martyred and dies. Long-term devotion and self-sacrifice, on the other hand, are not easy. For this reason, my current students are more self-sacrificing than the students of the Old Said. Whenever this secret appears in the east, my fellow citizens will perform great services for religion." In Son Sahitler (The Last Witnesses), his students speak of their master's willing and determined self-sacrifice to communicate the Qur'an's moral teachings: Whenever there arose an issue regarding the

Qur'an and the Risales, the Master would assume the vigor of a youth of 25.

The 11 months that Said Nursi spent in prison in Eskisehir were instrumental in bringing many people to belief and getting them to embrace the Qur'an's moral teachings.

When we reached Barla, he ignored fatigue and illness. We never saw the Master unoccupied. We never saw the Master unoccupied during all of the long years that we were with him. He would either read or make corrections, or have others read and listen. My brother, I congratulate you. Thanks to the Master we have become writers. Out of fear we had been unable to write works or to instruct anyone … But his purity, affection, compassion, humility, courage, and heroism overcame all things.

Said Nursi Spread the Message under the Most Difficult Conditions In spite of all these obstacles, Said Nursi never stopped spreading the teachings of the Qur'an through the Risales. To do this, he used the scant resources that he had at hand. No matter whether he was in exile, prison, or in a prison camp, and no matter where he went, he taught and wrote about Islam. New students continued to join him as the Risales reached more and more people. While on the Caucasian front leading volunteer troops, he wrote his Arabic-language work Al-Isarat al I`jaz (The Signs of Miraculousness). During the three years he spent in the prison camp after the war, he was a source of spiritual knowledge for captured officers who spent their lives going from one front to another, and strengthened their belief and sincerity of heart. Later, the Russians allowed him to stay in a mosque in the Tatar section of Kosturma (a mosque in Siberia). For two years and a half, he served as the mosque's imam and continued his discussions about belief. The bookTarihce-i

Hayat (Bediuzzaman Said Nursi), which details the life of Said Nursi and his students, tells of his determined spirit of self-sacrifice and devotion whether in prison, exile, or a prison camp: Bediuzzaman is a blessed person possessed of a most marvellous grace. Therefore, dungeons were like rose gardens for him, from where he saw the bright horizons of eternity. The executioner's block was a pulpit for him to preach and guide. From there he gave lessons of patience and perseverance, courage and strength for a sublime cause. Prisons turned into a Madrasa-i Yusufiya [School of Yusuf] for him. He would enter them like a professor entering a university to teach, because the people there were students in need of his inspiration and spiritual enlightenment. His daily activity of protecting several people's belief and turning monsters into angelic human beings was, for him, a happiness not to be exchanged for worlds. We see from this that it was a sufficient reward for his troubles if only one person came to love belief. Through him, many people embraced the Qur'an's moral teachings: He was thrown from one prison into another. Thanks to him, jails and prisons turned into a Madrasa-i Yusufiya [School of Yusuf]. Said Nursi illuminated jails, illuminated hearts. In the face of this monument to faith, many raging murderers and deviants were softened, as if they were re-created. All became gentle and good-tempered believers and good citizens … Which of your schools or education systems has done or could do such things? They exiled him from one place to another. Every place of exile became his homeland. Wherever he went, wherever he was exiled, he was surrounded by pure, clean believers. Thick prison walls could not separate him from his brothers/sisters in religion. These material obstacles between the great teacher and his students became beauteous things, thanks to his religion, love, and belief. These restrictions and limitations imposed by brute force and dead matter caused great waves in the oceans of the soul's world. These waves began from village rooms and enfolded all places, as far as the university gates. The children of the country, whose holy things had been trampled on for years, the ruined generations, those thirsting for belief, ran to his path and his light. The Master's treatises were passed from hand to hand, tongue to tongue, province to province. Everyone, young or old, ignorant or learned, from eight to eighty, got something out of them and was illuminated by their light.

He Spread His Message while in Prison and Exile Said Nursi was held in prison under very harsh conditions, sometimes being left in cold places, even when he was sick, and without anything to burn for warmth. While in prison and exile, 23 attempts were made to poison him. He was imprisoned with murderers and dangerous criminals, forbidden to speak with his students, and kept apart from all of his brothers in cause. But even under such difficult conditions, he always thought first of other people's happiness and well-being both in this world and the Hereafter. He constantly called other people to belief and tried to get them to embrace the Qur'an's moral teachings.

Exile in Burdur, Isparta, and Barla In 1925, Said Nursi was confined to compulsory residence in Burdur. In this house and at the local Kasaboglu mosque, he taught people the truths of religion and the Qur'an's moral teachings. However, the government at that time was uneasy with the number of people coming to listen to him and what he was teaching them, and so ordered him to be sent to Isparta. In 1926, he was transferred to Isparta and immediately involved himself in the same activities and attracted ever-growing crowds. In response, the government transferred him to Barla, a remote village located near Egirdir Lake that could only be reached by boat. Barla was one of the oldest villages in Isparta province, and its population was composed mainly of old people, many of whom were not literate. Moreover, the young people had moved to the big cities for economic reasons. Thus, the government thought that it would be a most suitable place for keeping him away from the masses. Said Nursi did not consider these periods of exile, which became continuous, as exile, but instead saw it as his duty, despite the lack of suitable means, to continue working. In the room assigned to him by the villagers, he wrote several new works and converted many people to belief.

Eskisehir Prison In Eskisehir prison, Said Nursi endured solitary confinement and, apart from one or two exceptions, was not allowed to speak to anyone. But despite these harsh conditions, he wrote sections 27 through 30 of The Flashes (a part of the Risale-i Nur). Several sources give some examples of how he was mistreated: Said Nursi was in the Eskisehir prison with 120 of his followers and had to endure solitary confinement. He and his students were subjected to various forms of cruelty and torture. One of his students, Zubeyir Gunduzalp, states that they were not given food for 12 days.

They were looking at us as if we had already been sentenced to death. No visitors were allowed. "You will be sentenced to death as well if you speak to them," they were threatened. At night, it was not possible to find sleep because of the filth, cockroaches, and bedbugs.

Denizli Prison Said Nursi began his imprisonment in Denizli in seclusion, as in Eskisehir. But he continued to write the Risale-i Nur despite the difficult conditions and even during his trial. Moreover, through his students, some prisoners became acquainted with the Risales. As a result, they became totally different individuals and began to perform their religious obligations. In this way, each prison in which Said Nursi spent time became a place where one could acquire spiritual knowledge.

Exile in Kastamonu For the first month of his compulsory residence in Kastamonu, Said Nursi had to live on the top floor of the police station. Later on, he was moved to a house a few meters away. He was not allowed to close the curtains on the windows facing the police station. Even though he was oppressed in ways that were totally against the law, he did not interrupt his compilation of the Risale-i Nur. In Kastamonu, he was able to take on new students. However, those who came to see him were questioned by the police, prevented from visiting him, and mistreated. And yet people continued to read the Risale-i Nur and to write and tell others about the signs leading to belief.

Exile in Emirdag After Kastamonu, Said Nursi was taken to Emirdag and installed in a room opposite the government building. He was not allowed to go the mosque and was always followed and watched. The conditions there were even worse than those he had faced in Denizli prison. He was not allowed to have visitors and was almost poisoned three times. When his opponents saw that he could not be silenced by legal means, they sought to kill him. But each time, he was saved from death by Allah's help. As a result of these attempts, he suffered serious difficulties.

Afyon Prison At the beginning of 1948, Said Nursi and 15 of his students were taken from their homes and workplaces and removed to Afyon's provincial center. They were held there for a week before being questioned, and then were sent to Afyon prison for the duration of their trials. As had happened before, they were mistreated. At this time, even though he was 70 years old and ill, he was left by himself in a dormitory big enough for 60 people. In spite of the ice on the broken windows on cold winter nights, he was not moved to other quarters. To make matters even worse, he was poisoned several times. On the pretext of protecting him from contagious diseases, the prison doctor injected him with a very strong poison that caused him to develop a dangerous fever. Despite his condition, he was left alone in the dormitory and forbidden to speak to anyone. His students in prison were not even allowed to visit him. However, they were able to turn the prison into a madrasa (religious school) where they taught the other inmates about the Qur'an and the Risale-i Nur. Some of the prisoners embraced belief in this way. In spite of his terrible living conditions, Said Nursi wrote the 14th and 15th parts of The Rays, thus completing the Risale-i Nur's compilation. The following excerpts tell of Said Nursi's days in prison and the deliberate oppression and unjust treatment that he was forced to endure: Then they arrested me during the most intensely cold days of winter on some trite pretext and put me into solitary confinement in a large and extremely cold prison ward, leaving me for two days without a stove. Having been accustomed to light my stove several times a day in my small room, and always having live coals in the brazier, due to my illness and weakness I was only able to endure it with difficulty. While struggling in this situation with both a fever from the cold and a dreadful degree of distress and anger, through Divine grace a truth unfolded in my heart. It uttered the following warning to my spirit: "You called prison the Medrese-i Yusufiya—the School of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph). And while in Denizli, things like relief a thousand times greater than your distress, spiritual profit, and the other prisoners benefiting from the Risale-i Nur, and its conquests on a larger scale, all made you offer endless thanks instead of complaining. They made each hour of your imprisonment and hardship like ten hours' of worship, and made those passing hours eternal. Allah willing, those struck by calamity in this third 'School of Yusuf' are benefiting from the Risale-i Nur and finding consolation [in it] will heat this cold, severe distress of yours and transform it into joy." Then, as though I had committed some heinous crime, they nailed up my windows. The smoke from the stove was a great discomfort to me, and I insisted that they leave one window open. Now they have nailed that up too. Also, although according to prison practice, solitary confinement usually lasts around a fortnight I was in total isolation for three and a half months, and they did not allow any of my friends to have any contact with me. Also, three months ago a forty-page indictment was written against me. They showed it to me. But I do not know the new letters, and I was ill, and my own writing is very poor, so I pleaded with them to let two of my students come, who know my language and could read the indictment and write out my objections to it. But they did not permit it. They said: "The defence lawyer should come and read it." Then they did not permit him [to do so] either. Only, they told one of my brothers to write it out in the old letters and give it to me. But it would take six or seven days to write out those forty pages. To make the hour's work of reading me the indictment stretch over six or seven days, just so that no one should have contact with me, is appalling repression and deprives me of my right of defence entirely. A multiple murderer condemned to be hanged does not receive such treatment. But Said Nursi never regarded these difficulties as confining. He often expressed this attitude in his writings, some selections of which are presented here: Since we have submitted to destiny, we know that these troubles are the most auspicious of matters and a spiritual blessing, the secret indicating the acquisition of merit. Generally, the end of transitory worldly troubles comes with well-being and goodness. Since we have such an elevated degree of belief and have dedicated our life to such a reality, it is brighter than the sun, as beautiful as Paradise, and as charming as eternal happiness. Of course we are engaged in a spiritual struggle, taking pride in and giving thanks for these woes, and so must not complain. Do they think I am so self-important and thinking of saving myself? I have sacrificed the world and the Hereafter for the sake of saving the congregation's belief. In my 80 or so years of life I have known nothing of worldly pleasure. My entire life has been spent on battlefields, in prison camps, or in the jails and court rooms of my country. There is no suffering or torment to which I have not been subjected. I have been treated like a monster by military courts, and exiled from place to place like a vagabond. I have been condemned to months of solitary confinement in the country's prisons. I have been poisoned many times, subjected to all forms of insult … My nature cannot bear humiliation and insult. Islamic courage and reason forbid me from being in this state. When faced with such an incident, I will not belittle myself no matter with whom I may be dealing, be it even the cruellest, most barbaric enemy commander. I will strike him in the face with his cruelty and barbarity. He may throw me in a dungeon or even lead me to the executioner's block. It is of no importance. Indeed, that is what happened. I have seen all of these things. If the heart, the conscience, of that barbaric commander had been able to resist such cruelty a few minutes more, Said would today have been hanged and joined the assembly of the innocent. All my life has passed with such trouble and difficulty, disaster and catastrophe. I have sacrificed my self, my world, on the path of belief, happiness, and soundness of the society. So let it be. I do not even curse them, because thanks to this, the Risale-i Nur has at least reached a few hundred thousand people, or a few million. I do not know the number, but that is what they say. The Afyon prosecutor said five hundred thousand. Maybe it has been a means of saving more people's belief. By dying I would have saved only myself, but by remaining alive and bearing difficulty and troubles I have helped to save so much belief. A thousand thanks to Allah.

His students told about the difficulties he had experienced in those days and his resolve to be self-sacrificial while enduring them: Winter. Everywhere was frozen. Afyon was cut off and the railway was closed. No food or fuel had reached the city for 15-20 days. No water flowed. The blessed Master's windows were broken, floorboards were spaced out, and it was impossible to get warm. That day I saw that the Master had curled up under a double blanket in front of a gas jar with some coal in it and a tea kettle. Even if we met with the Master most times, it was impossible for us to know him as most of the other students know him. We sometimes became aware of him being kept in bitter cold, stoveless rooms, given deadly poisons. I saw the Master suffering—who knows after what torment and suffering? A strange day and a strange winter. On the other hand, the aged and sick Bediuzzaman was regarded as worthy of all kinds of ruthless treatment. They would not even let him approach the window to take some air. Since the prison's water was on the bottom floor, they generally left the Master without water. The Master was patient in the face of all this treatment and did not even curse them. I sometimes entered the prison and visited the Master. At one visit, his temperature had risen to forty degrees [centigrade]. Even under those conditions he was busy with writing and rectification of texts. His disciples were at his side. They too had suffered much sickness. The esteemed Master had genuinely suffered much. He saw Allah's grace in suffering. He was deprived of everything. The washing room was fifty meters away, with no roof and no electricity. During winter, sometimes there was no wood in the house. In Barla, everything was lacking in winter. He would have just a single egg by him and they made his bread locally. But the Master was nonetheless perfectly content. I used to give Bediuzzaman his food. "You must not allow any books, pens, paper, or visitors in his room," they said. "All right," I said. He would divide the bread I had brought him into perhaps seventy pieces, taking some for himself and saying: "Ibrahim, my brother, take this to my students." I was sometimes quite amazed by this.

The Students Also Endured Like Said Nursi, his students faced many difficulties and continued to sacrifice their interests to spread the Qur'an's moral teachings. We read in The Words that they memorized Said Nursi's words so that they could better spread his teachings. They were taken to prison along with Said Nursi and, while there, wrote down his words and then duplicated and distributed them. If they had the secret means, they would again occupy themselves with the Risales. There were even some students who learned it by heart, saying: "I may be thrown into prison. They will not let me have the Risales, and I will be unable to study." One student of the Nur [Light], when removed from the prison, would draw closer to his Master and work and publish for the Nur even more than before, as if that prison with its whippings and beatings on the soles of the feet, full of torture of all kinds, had been a source of strength and energy, as if it had had a spurring effect in the service of the Nur with loyalty, care and cunning. As their belief, dedication, determination, and self-sacrifice grew, the students described how they saw things: The heroic Nur disciples of Emirdag were very loyal to our Master. They would have died for their Master. They performed much greater heroism, as if all of this oppression, threats, cruelty, and wickedness had not intimidated them. There came such a time that they imprisoned three brothers, together with their sons. Their shops remained closed for days, months; they caused them bankruptcy, but it was still a means whereby the nature of the lessons was understood. They would give their lives for the Master and the Risale-i Nur, along with their goods and possessions. They lost their property and went bankrupt, but never gave these a moment's thought. The students adopted Said Nursi's moral understanding and faced their difficulties with patience and trust in Allah: Such attacks on the Nur students who made progress and elevation in the levels of belief, and who attained a strong belief with the inquiring lessons in faith of the Risale-i Nur, are a test in one way and a means of measurement for distinguishing coal from diamonds. For the students of the Nur, prisons are all Madrasa-i Yusufiya due to their belief in Allah, obedience to the Prophet, and acting by the Qur'an. Cruelty and oppression are all whips and rivets [to urge us]. With these attacks, the

Divine destiny reveals this to us: "Do not stop! Work!" For the Nur students, speaking in the courts in the service of the Qur'an and belief is like talking to a friend. Being taken to and from the police station is no different than going to and from the market … Being cruelly sentenced by a person to punishment is a proof that Allah will acquit him in truth. All such cruelty and torture are medals of honor for students of the Nur. How happy are those brothers of ours, the students of the Nur, who have enjoyed those blessings for thirty years. In one place, Said Nursi explains his students' devout and selfsacrificial moral character and urges them to accept whatever happens to them: I have sacrificed all that I have, material and spiritual, and have borne all suffering and torture. Thanks to this, the truth of belief has spread everywhere. Thanks to this, the Risale-i Nur school has educated hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of students. They will now continue on this path of serving belief and will not depart from my profession of sacrificing everything, both material and spiritual. They will work solely to attain Allah's mercy inshaAllah [Allah willing]. Many of my students were exposed to various forms of suffering, torment, and torture along with me, and were sorely tested. Like me, I wish them to give up their rights in the face of all injustice and those who behaved unjustly, because this latter group, not being able to conceive of the secrets and manifestations of the Divine destiny, unknowingly served our cause and the spread of the truth of belief. Our duty consists solely of wishing them to be rightly guided.