The Architecture of Resurrection and Cosmic Renewal
The texts and videos presented here offer an excerpt from The Twenty-Ninth Word, written by Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, which establishes belief in the Hereafter upon a rational foundation.
The work explains, through the metaphor of a magnificent palace, how the universe will one day come to an end and how an eternal life will subsequently begin.
The text examines the process of the destruction and reconstruction of the universe through six fundamental questions concerning necessity, possibility, and the power of the Agent responsible for creation.
The author emphasizes that the destruction of the world and the resurrection at the appointed time of the Resurrection can be demonstrated through rational proofs.
Accordingly, these sources constitute a systematic theological defense aimed at dispelling doubts concerning the end of the world and the immortality of the human spirit.
In conclusion, the text offers a convincing and comprehensive perspective on the questions surrounding the future of existence.
Gemini Notebook
THE TWENTY-NINTH WORD
The Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead
SECOND AIM
The Second Aim turns our attention to something profound.
The resurrection of the dead.
The end of the world.
And the life of the Hereafter.
It contains four fundamental points.
But before we reach them, there is an introduction.
An introduction built around a simple comparison.
INTRODUCTION
Imagine a magnificent palace.
Or an extraordinary city.
Someone tells you:
“This palace will one day be destroyed.
And then…
it will be rebuilt.
It will rise again,
complete and intact.”
What would you ask?
Naturally…
six questions would come to mind.
THE FIRST QUESTION
Why should it be destroyed?
Is there a reason?
Is there something that makes its destruction necessary?
If the answer is yes…
then that reason must be proven.
There must be a cause.
A purpose.
A necessity.
THE SECOND QUESTION
Now consider something else.
Who is going to destroy it?
And who will rebuild it?
Does its builder possess the power to do so?
Does he have the ability to create it again?
If the answer is yes…
then that power must also be demonstrated.
THE THIRD QUESTION
Then comes another question.
Is its destruction actually possible?
And more importantly…
will it really happen?
If the answer is yes,
then both must be established.
The possibility of its destruction.
And the certainty of its occurrence.
TWO MORE QUESTIONS
But the inquiry does not end there.
Another question appears.
Could this remarkable palace…
or this magnificent city…
be rebuilt from the beginning?
Could every part of it be brought together again?
Could it return to its former perfection?
If the answer is yes…
then another question follows.
Will it actually be rebuilt?
Will it rise again?
And if all these questions are answered…
if every point is demonstrated…
then something remarkable happens.
There is no opening left for doubt.
No hidden gap.
No place for suspicion to enter.
The argument becomes complete.
THE COMPARISON
Now consider the universe.
Look at the Earth.
Look at the heavens above it.
Think of the countless forms of life.
The immense order.
The delicate balance.
The extraordinary harmony.
The Earth is like a palace.
And the universe…
like a vast and magnificent city.
According to this comparison,
this great palace will one day be destroyed.
And then…
it will be rebuilt.
But this is not presented as a mere possibility.
There are reasons that necessitate it.
There are signs that point toward it.
And there is a Creator…
whose power is sufficient for it.
The destruction is possible.
And it will occur.
The reconstruction is possible.
And it will occur.
These truths will be examined carefully.
And they will be demonstrated…
beginning with the First Fundamental Point.
For now,
we are standing at the threshold.
A threshold between this world…
and the world to come.
And beyond it lies one of the greatest questions ever asked:
What happens…
when this world comes to an end?
And what happens…
when humanity rises again?
The answer begins here.
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Original text and videos
The Twente-Ninth Word
About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead
…
Second Aim
The Second Aim is about the resurrection of the dead, the end of the world, and the life of the hereafter. It consists of four fundamental points, and an introduction which is in the form of a comparison.
INTRODUCTION
If someone was to claim about a palace or a city: “This palace or city will be destroyed, and will then be repaired and reconstructed so that it is intact,” six questions would surely arise in the face of his claim.
The First:
Why should it be destroyed? Is there a reason or something to necessitate it? If the answer is “Yes,” he would have to prove it.
The Second:
A question such as the following would arise: “Does the builder who would destroy and then reconstruct it possess the power to do so? Would he be capable of it?” If the answer is “Yes,” he would have to prove it.
The Third:
The following such question would arise: “Is its destruction possible? And, is it going to be destroyed in the future?”
If the answer is “Yes,” and if he proves both the possibility of the destruction and its occurrence, the following two further questions would arise:
“Is it possible for this strange palace or city to be reconstructed from scratch, I wonder? If it is possible, will it be reconstructed?”
If the answer is “Yes” and he proves these as well, then in no aspect or corner of this matter can a gap or chink remain through which any doubt, misgiving or suspicion might enter.
Thus, like in the comparison, there are facts necessitating the destruction and reconstruction of the palace of the earth and city of the universe. Its author and builder is powerful enough; its destruction is possible, and will occur. Its reconstruction is possible, and will occur. These matters will be proved after the First Fundamental Point.
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words – The Twenty-Ninth Word – About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead, The English translations of the Risale-i Nur Collection, translated by Şükran Vahide and published by Sözler Neşriyat, are an exact printed version of the original text. (erisale.com)
The texts and videos presented explore the existence of angels, their roles in the universe, and the spiritual dimension of creation from the perspective of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi.
While emphasizing that every being in the universe is engaged in its own form of glorification and worship, the text highlights the necessity of appointed angels who consciously represent and carry out these duties on behalf of beings that lack consciousness.
Unlike human beings, angels are described as messengers who seek no personal benefit, obey only Divine commands, and derive a spiritual pleasure from serving in this way.
The text explains that the descriptions in the Hadiths of angels with multiple heads or speaking multiple languages are, in fact, indications of their universal and immense innate duties.
In the final section, drawing upon verses of the Qur’an, the text presents the reality of angels and jinn as servants and officials of the Divine sovereignty.
This work aims to explain, through rational and transmitted evidence, the spiritual order that exists behind the material realm.
Gemini Notebook
THE TWENTY-NINTH WORD
THE ANGELS AND THE UNSEEN
Fourth Fundamental Point — The Angels in the Living Order of the Universe
What if the universe is far more alive than we imagine?
Look closely.
A flower is not merely a flower.
It carries a remarkable pattern of beauty.
Its very existence seems to speak.
It points beyond itself.
And it praises its Creator through the language of its being.
Now look at a garden.
A single flower has its own purpose.
But the garden has a greater purpose.
It becomes like one vast flower.
Its colors.
Its harmony.
Its countless forms of life.
Together, they perform a universal act of praise.
The same is true of a tree.
A fruit appears.
A flower opens.
A leaf unfolds.
Each has its own function.
Yet the entire tree performs a greater service.
It becomes like a single living declaration.
And the pattern continues.
The heavens themselves can be viewed in the same way.
The sun.
The moon.
The stars.
Countless worlds moving through immense spaces.
Each appears like a word.
And together, they form a vast cosmic expression.
A declaration of order.
A declaration of beauty.
A declaration of power.
From this perspective, even what appears lifeless is not without purpose.
Matter may seem silent.
Unconscious.
Still.
Yet it participates in an extraordinary order.
Everything performs a function.
Everything contributes to a greater harmony.
And according to this vision, the angels are connected to this hidden dimension of creation.
They represent the worship and glorification expressed by the universe.
They are, in a sense, the counterparts of these visible creatures in the unseen world.
The universe becomes like a vast palace.
And within that palace, there are many kinds of servants.
Plants and inanimate things perform their duties without knowing them.
Animals serve wider purposes without fully understanding them.
Human beings, however, can recognize the purpose behind creation.
They can understand.
They can choose.
And they can consciously respond.
But there is another order of beings.
Beings beyond physical desire.
Beyond material reward.
For them, the greatest reward is closeness to their Creator.
His command.
His attention.
His favour.
His presence.
Their worship is their joy.
Their service is their perfection.
And their connection to God is their fulfilment.
Their duties are not all the same.
Just as a great government has many offices and many officials, the universe contains different realms of service.
Each has its own function.
Each has its own form of glorification.
Tradition describes the Archangel Michael as having a special connection with the creatures of the earth.
He is associated with the vast processes of life that unfold across the planet.
The animals, too, are described as having their own appointed spiritual guardians.
Different realms.
Different duties.
Different forms of service.
But one greater order.
This helps us understand why angels are described in such extraordinary ways in the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.
One narration speaks of angels with enormous numbers of heads.
Each head.
Many mouths.
And every mouth.
Many tongues.
All glorifying God in different ways.
Taken literally, the image is immense.
But beneath the image lies a deeper idea.
The worship of the angels is vast.
Ordered.
Comprehensive.
And beyond our ordinary perception.
Consider the Earth.
From space, it appears as one world.
One living system.
Yet within it are countless forms of life.
Forests.
Oceans.
Mountains.
Animals.
Plants.
Millions upon millions of individual acts.
Each contributing to the greater whole.
In this sense, the Earth itself can be imagined as having countless tongues of praise.
And the angel associated with it represents this vast universal meaning in the unseen realm.
There is an example from nature that makes this idea even more striking.
Consider an almond tree.
A single tree can have dozens of great branches.
Each branch divides into smaller branches.
Those branches carry flowers.
And each flower contains its own intricate structure.
Layer after layer.
Pattern after pattern.
Order within order.
Beauty within beauty.
And each detail points toward a greater meaning.
The question then arises:
Could such a tree perform so many intricate functions…
and yet have no appointed spiritual representative?
Could all this order exist…
without a deeper dimension?
For the believer, the answer is no.
The visible world is not the whole story.
It is only the surface.
Behind the visible form lies another dimension.
A dimension of meaning.
A dimension of worship.
A dimension inhabited by beings we cannot normally see.
And now…
we are invited to look beyond the visible.
To open the doors of the Qur’an.
To enter a world where angels are not distant ideas…
but part of a living cosmic order.
The Qur’an speaks of them.
It describes their movements.
Their obedience.
Their duties.
Their worship.
It presents them as servants who act only by divine command.
They do not act independently.
They do not rebel.
They carry out what they are commanded.
The Qur’an says:
“Glory be to Him!
They are but servants raised to honour.
They speak not before He speaks.
And they act by His command.”
These words offer a powerful image.
A universe filled with obedience.
A universe filled with service.
A universe in which countless beings perform their duties…
even when human eyes cannot see them.
And then there is another unseen creation.
The jinn.
The Qur’an tells of a group of them listening to the revelation.
They hear the recitation.
They recognize its guidance.
And they respond.
They say that they have heard a wondrous recitation.
A recitation that guides to what is right.
And they believe in it.
They refuse to associate anything with their Lord.
So the Qur’an opens another door.
Beyond the world of matter.
Beyond what our senses normally reveal.
A world of angels.
A world of jinn.
A world of unseen realities.
Perhaps the universe is not silent after all.
Perhaps the silence is only our limitation.
Perhaps every star…
every ocean…
every tree…
every living creature…
is part of a greater order.
An order we can observe…
but cannot completely see.
And perhaps, beyond the visible universe…
there is a world that is constantly praising its Creator.
A world of beings whose existence is hidden from our eyes…
but whose purpose is deeply connected to the meaning of creation.
The visible world may be only the beginning.
The unseen…
may be far closer than we think.
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Original text
The Twente-Ninth Word
About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead …
First Aim
To believe in the angels and affirm that belief is a pillar of faith. There are four fundamental points in this aim. …
FOURTH FUNDAMENTAL POINT
If the creatures of the universe are observed with care, it may be seen that like particulars, universals have collective identities, each of which appears as a universal function; it is apparent that each performs a universal duty. For example, just as a flower as itself displays an embroidery full of art and with the tongue of its being recites the Creator’s names, so the garden of the globe resembles a flower and performs an extremely orderly, universal duty of glorification. And just as a fruit issues a proclamation expressing its glorification of God within an order and regularity, so does a mighty tree in its entirety have a most orderly natural duty and worship. And just as a tree glorifies God through the words of its fruits, flowers and leaves, so do the vast oceans of the heavens glorify the All-Glorious Creator and praise the Sublime Maker through their suns, moons, and stars, which are like words; and so on. Although external beings are outwardly inanimate and unconscious, they all perform extremely vital, living, and conscious duties and glorification. Of a certainty, therefore, just as angels are their representatives expressing their glorification in the World of the Inner Dimensions of Things, so are they the counterparts, dwellings, and mosques of those angels in the external and manifest world. As is explained in the Fourth Branch of the Twenty-Fourth Word, the first of the four categories of workers employed by the All-Glorious Maker of the palace of this world is that of the angels and spirit beings. Since, without knowing it, plants and inanimate beings perform extremely important though wageless duties at the command of One Who does know; also without knowing it, animals serve extensive universal aims in return for an insignificant wage; and since, observedly, in return for two wages, one immediate and the other postponed, human beings, knowing the All-Glorious Maker’s aims, are employed by their conforming to them, their taking a share of everything for themselves, and their supervising the other servants; it will certainly be the first category, as well as the fourth, which will constitute the servants and workers. They both resemble human beings in that knowing the universal aims of the All-Glorious Maker, they conform to them through worship, and they are contrary to them. For being beyond sensual pleasure and some partial wage, they consider sufficient the pleasure, perfection, delight and bliss they experience from the All-Glorious Maker’s attention, command, favour, consideration, and name, through their perception of Him, connection with Him, and proximity to Him. They labour with the purest sincerity, their duties of worship varying according to their different kinds, and according to the varieties of the creatures in the universe. Like in a government there are various officials in the various offices, so too the duties of worship and glorification vary in the spheres of the realm of dominicality. For example, through the power, strength, reckoning and command of God Almighty, the Archangel Michael is like the general overseer of God’s creatures sown in the field of the face of the earth. If one may say so, he is the head of the angels that resemble farmers. And, through the permission, command, power, and wisdom of the All-Glorious Creator, the incorporeal shepherds of the animals have a head, a supreme angel appointed to the task. Thus, since it is necessary for there to be an angel appointed to each of these external creatures in order to represent in the World of the Inner Dimensions of Things the duties of worship and service of glorification which it performs, and to present them knowingly at the divine court, the way the angels are described in the narrations of the Bringer of Sure News (UWBP) is certainly most appropriate and rational. For example, he declared: “There are some angels which have either forty, or forty thousand, heads. In each of the heads are forty thousand mouths, and with the forty thousand tongues in each of those mouths they glorify God in forty thousand ways.” This Hadith expresses a truth, and both contains a meaning, and has a form or manner of expression. Its meaning is as follows: The angels’ worship is both orderly and perfect, and universal and comprehensive. As for the form of the truth, it is this: There are certain mighty corporeal beings that perform their duties of worship with forty thousand heads in forty thousand ways. For example, the heavens glorify God with the suns and the stars. While the earth, which is a single being, performs its duty of worship, its dominical glorification, with a hundred thousand heads and with the hundreds of thousands of tongues in each mouth. Thus, the angel appointed to the globe of the earth has to be envisaged in this way in order to display this meaning in the World of the Inner Dimensions of Things. I myself, even, saw a medium-sized almond tree which had close on forty large branches resembling heads. When I looked at one branch, I saw it had nearly forty smaller branches like tongues. Then I looked at one tongue of one of those small branches; forty flowers had opened on it. I studied the flowers considering the wisdom in them, and saw in each close on forty exquisite, well-ordered stamens, colours, and arts, each of which proclaimed one of the All-Glorious Maker’s names and their constantly varying manifestations. Is it at all possible that the All-Wise and Beauteous One, Who is the All-Glorious Maker of the almond tree, would impose this many duties on an inanimate tree, and not mount on it an appointed angel appropriate to it, to be like its spirit, to understand and express its meaning, proclaim it to the universe, and present it at the divine court? O friend! So far, our explanation has been an introduction to bring the heart to acceptance, the reason to submission, and to compel the soul to surrender. If you have understood it to some degree and wish to meet with the angels, prepare yourself. Moreover, purify yourself of wrongful prejudice. Now look, the doors of the Qur’an’s world are open! Look, the paradise of the Qur’an is with “wide-open gates” (38:50)! Enter and Look! See the angels in beautiful form in the paradise of the Qur’an! Each of its revealed verses is a place to alight, so look from them: By the [winds] sent forth one after another [to man’s profit], * Which then blow violently in tempestuous gusts * And scatter [things] far and wide; * Then separate, one from another * Then spread abroad a message. (77:1-5) By the [angels] who tear out [the souls of the wicked] with violence, * By those who gently draw out [the souls of the blessed] ,* And by those who gently glide along [on errands of mercy],* Then press forward as if in a race, * Then arrange to do [the commands of their Lord]. (79:1-5) Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by God’s permission in every errand. (97:4) … over which are [appointed] angels stern [and] severe, who flinch not [from executing] the commands they receive from God, but do [precisely] what they are commanded. (66:6) Also listen to: Glory be to Him! They are but servants raised to honour. They speak not before He speaks and they act [in all things] by His command, (21:26-27) listen to its praises. And if you wish to meet with the jinn, enter this resounding sura: Say, it has been revealed to me that a company of jinn listened [to the Qur’an]. (72:1) See them and listen to what they say. Take a lesson from them. Look, they are saying: “We have really heard a wonderful recital * It gives guidance to the right, and we have believed therein: We shall not join [in worship] any [gods] with our Lord.” (72:1-2)
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words – The Twenty-Ninth Word – About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead, The English translations of the Risale-i Nur Collection, translated by Şükran Vahide and published by Sözler Neşriyat, are an exact printed version of the original text. (erisale.com)
The Eternal Reality of Angels and Spiritual Beings
This text and the accompanying videos are based on a classical work of Islamic thought that establishes the existence of angels and spiritual beings through both rational and transmitted evidence.
The author emphasizes that belief in the existence of these beings is a fundamental pillar of faith, presenting the enduring consensus of humanity throughout history and the common testimony of religious scholars as primary evidence.
The text develops a logical inference based on the idea that the witnessing of even a single spiritual being would be sufficient to establish the existence of the entire category to which it belongs.
It further states that the testimony of prophets and saints concerning this matter is far more authoritative and conclusive than the views of those who deny their existence.
Ultimately, it is expressed that the nature and mode of existence of angels can be understood most accurately only within the framework of the truths conveyed by the Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad.
Gemini Notebook
THE TWENTY-NINTH WORD — THE ANGELS AND THE UNSEEN
There are questions that reach beyond what the human eye can see.
Questions about the unseen.
About angels.
About spiritual beings.
And about the life of the human spirit.
For thousands of years, humanity has asked the same questions.
Are we truly alone?
Is there a world beyond the visible?
And if we cannot see it…
does that mean it does not exist?
The Twenty-Ninth Word approaches these questions from a different perspective.
It begins with a simple principle.
Sometimes, the existence of the whole can be understood through a single example.
If one member of a species is known to exist…
then the existence of that species can no longer be dismissed.
And this principle leads us to something remarkable.
Across the ages, people of revelation have spoken of angels.
They have spoken of spiritual beings.
And they have described encounters with them.
Not in one place.
Not in one generation.
But across civilizations.
Across centuries.
Across the long history of humanity.
From the time of Adam…
until the present day.
The great scholars of the revealed religions have affirmed their existence.
And many have claimed to have witnessed them.
Some have described speaking with them.
Others have recorded signs of their presence.
Different peoples.
Different languages.
Different cultures.
And yet…
a remarkably consistent belief.
But could such a belief have appeared from nothing?
Could it have survived thousands of years…
through wars…
through revolutions…
through the rise and fall of civilizations…
if it had no foundation?
Could an idea without evidence become one of the most persistent beliefs in human history?
The argument presented here is simple.
Perhaps this universal belief is not based on imagination.
Perhaps it comes from countless observations.
Countless testimonies.
Countless signs.
One testimony may be questioned.
A second may be doubted.
But what happens when the number becomes enormous?
When generations upon generations report similar experiences?
When those reports come from people regarded as trustworthy and spiritually qualified?
Then the question changes.
We are no longer asking…
“Why do people believe?”
We are asking…
“What lies behind this belief?”
And there is another important point.
Throughout human history, prophets and saints have spoken about the unseen world.
They have described angels.
They have spoken of spiritual beings.
And they have claimed to have encountered them.
These individuals were not merely observers.
They were people who devoted their lives to truth.
People who accepted immense responsibility.
People who spoke to humanity about realities beyond ordinary experience.
If a person is qualified to speak about a particular subject…
his testimony carries weight.
And in this question, the argument becomes even stronger.
Because the prophets and saints were not alone.
Their testimony was supported by generations of followers.
By traditions.
By observations.
By signs.
And by revelation.
The Qur’an stands at the center of this argument.
For believers, it is not simply an ancient book.
It is a source of revelation.
A light in the world of truth.
Its message points repeatedly toward realities beyond the visible world.
And at the center of that message stands the Prophet Muhammad.
The Messenger of God.
The one whose life became a testimony to the unseen.
His prophetic journey reaches beyond ordinary human experience.
Beyond the limits of the physical world.
And toward realities that cannot be measured by the senses alone.
Here, the argument reaches its deepest point.
Suppose…
just once…
the existence of a single spiritual being were established with certainty.
Then something extraordinary would follow.
The existence of one individual would demonstrate the possibility…
and reality…
of the entire species.
Just as seeing one living creature can prove that such a species exists…
one verified spiritual being would establish that spiritual beings are not merely products of imagination.
The question would no longer be whether they exist.
The question would become…
what are they?
And what is their place in the universe?
According to the Qur’anic vision…
they belong to a reality far greater than the world we normally perceive.
A reality filled with beings of light.
A reality in which the visible universe is only one layer of existence.
Perhaps this is the deeper lesson.
Human beings have always lived between two worlds.
One that we can see.
And one that we cannot.
We see stars.
But we do not see everything that exists between them.
We see matter.
But we do not see every force acting upon it.
We see the surface of life.
But beneath that surface lies a universe of hidden processes.
So perhaps the unseen should not be dismissed simply because it is unseen.
After all…
the universe has always been larger than our senses.
There was a time when humanity could not see bacteria.
They were there.
We simply lacked the means to perceive them.
There was a time when we could not see distant galaxies.
They were there too.
Our vision had limits.
Reality did not.
And perhaps…
that is the question at the heart of the Twenty-Ninth Word.
How much of existence lies beyond the boundary of human perception?
Maybe the unseen world is not a contradiction to reason.
Maybe it is a reminder of reason’s limits.
And if even one glimpse beyond that boundary can be established…
then the universe becomes larger than we imagined.
The visible world is no longer the whole story.
It becomes only the beginning.
A doorway…
into a reality far greater.
A reality in which angels exist.
Spiritual beings exist.
And the human spirit itself may possess a destiny beyond death.
Because perhaps…
what we call the end…
is only the end of what we can see.
Not the end of existence.
Not the end of the journey.
And certainly…
not the end of the human spirit.
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Original text
The Twenty-Ninth Word
About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead …
First Aim
To believe in the angels and affirm that belief is a pillar of faith. There are four fundamental points in this aim. …
THIRD FUNDAMENTAL POINT
The angels and spirit beings are one of those questions in which the reality of a universal may be inferred from the existence of a single particular. If a single individual is seen, the existence of the species may be concluded. Whoever denies it, denies it as a member of the species to which it belongs. While whoever accepts the single individual is compelled to accept its whole species. Since it is thus, consider the following: Have you not seen and heard that all the scholars of the revealed religions throughout the ages from the time of Adam until now have agreed on the existence of the angels and the reality of spirit beings? The different groups of humankind have concurred in having seen and conversed with angels and in their narrations concerning them, as though they were discussing and narrating events about one another. Do you think that if a single angel had not been seen, and the existence of one or numerous individuals not been established through observation, and their existence not been perceived clearly, self-evidently, that it would have been at all possible for such accord and such a consensus to continue, and to continue persistently and unanimously in such an affirmative and positive manner, based on observation? Also, is it at all possible that the source of this general belief should not be some necessary principles and self-evident matters? And is it all possible that a baseless delusion should persist and become permanent in all the beliefs of mankind throughout all the revolutions it has undergone? And is it all possible that the basis of the assertion of these scholars of the religions, of this mighty consensus, should not be a certain intuition and empirical certainty? And is it at all possible that that certain intuition and empirical certainty which result from innumerable signs, and those signs which have been observed on numerous occasions, and those numerous observations should not all, without doubt or hesitation, be founded on necessary principles? In which case, the cause and the basis of the assertion of the universal belief held by these scholars are the necessary and categorical principles resulting from the great number of times the angels and spirit beings have been observed and seen, which demonstrates the strength of the consensus. Furthermore, is it all possible, rational or feasible that the unanimous testimony of the prophets and saints, who are like the suns, moons, and stars in human society, concerning the existence of the angels and spirit beings and their actually seeing them, should be prey to doubts or be the object of suspicion? Especially since they are qualified to speak in this matter. It is obvious that two people who are qualified to speak on a matter are preferable to thousands who are not. Moreover, in this question they are affirming a matter, and people who affirm a matter are preferable to thousands who deny or reject it. Is it at all possible for there to be any doubt concerning the statements of the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition, the Sun of Suns in the world of truths, which never at any time sets, shining continuously in the skies of the universe? And can there be doubt concerning the testimony and witnessings of the Muhammadan Being (UWBP), the Sun of Prophethood? Since, if on a single occasion the existence of a single spirit being is verified, this demonstrates the actual existence of the whole species; and since it proves the existence of the whole species to be true, for sure, the best and most rational and acceptable form of their real existence will be similar to that expounded by the Shari’a, described by the Qur’an, and seen by the One who ascended to the “distance of two bow-lengths.”
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words – The Twenty-Ninth Word – About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead, The English translations of the Risale-i Nur Collection, translated by Şükran Vahide and published by Sözler Neşriyat, are an exact printed version of the original text. (erisale.com)
The Living Messengers of the Universe – A Documentary Narration Inspired by The Twenty-Ninth Word – Bediuzzaman Said Nursi
The Existence and Nature of the Angels
This text and video is a passage from The Twenty-Ninth Word by Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, in which the existence and nature of angels are explained through both rational and transmitted evidence.
The author points out that not only religious scholars, but also various philosophical schools—and even materialists—have been compelled to acknowledge the reality of spiritual beings, although they may refer to them by different names.
Angels are described as luminous beings devoted to worship, representing the laws of creation that originate from the Divine Will and holding the reins of these laws.
The text emphasizes that the universe is not limited to the visible, material realm. Rather, the unseen realm is also filled with beings suited to life and existence.
According to the text, angels constitute a vast community that completely obeys the commands of God and serves as the representatives of the Shariah of Creation (Shariah al-Takwiniyyah)—the divinely established laws governing the universe.
In conclusion, the text presents, within a logical framework, the idea that behind the delicate and intricate order of the universe lie these subtle, luminous beings.
Gemini Notebook
The Living Messengers of the Universe
A Documentary Narration Inspired by
The Twenty-Ninth Word
Look up at the night sky.
It seems silent.
Empty.
Still.
But is it?
For thousands of years…
philosophers…
scientists…
and believers…
have all asked the same question.
Is this universe truly uninhabited?
Or is there a hidden order…
beyond what our eyes can see?
Across civilizations…
across cultures…
and across centuries…
remarkably similar answers emerged.
Different words.
Different languages.
One shared reality.
Every realm of creation…
has its own unseen guardians.
Some philosophers called them…
the Intellects.
Others…
the Lords of Creation.
The revealed religions…
called them angels.
Different names.
The same profound idea.
Even those who rejected revelation…
could not completely reject this reality.
Unable to explain the perfect harmony of nature…
they invented new names.
Invisible forces.
Natural laws.
Hidden energies.
But changing a name…
does not change a reality.
Because laws…
cannot act by themselves.
A law cannot see.
A law cannot choose.
A law cannot obey.
It has no awareness.
No intention.
No life.
A traffic law…
does not direct the cars.
Someone must enforce it.
Someone must carry it into action.
The same is true…
on a cosmic scale.
The universe operates with astonishing precision.
Every star follows its course.
Every cloud moves in perfect measure.
Every raindrop reaches its destination.
Every seed knows when to awaken.
Could unconscious laws…
truly govern a living universe?
Or are there conscious servants…
carrying out the Divine command?
The Qur’an offers a clear answer.
The angels…
are honored servants.
They never rebel.
They never hesitate.
They fulfill every command entrusted to them.
They are beings of light.
Invisible to us.
Yet deeply involved…
in the order of creation.
Think about our own world.
Earth…
is overflowing with life.
Every forest.
Every ocean.
Every mountain.
Every handful of soil.
Life fills every available place.
If this small planet…
is so full of living creatures…
why would the immeasurable heavens…
remain empty?
Would the greatest realms…
contain the least life?
Or is life…
far greater than we imagine?
The visible universe…
may only be the surface.
A beautifully woven curtain.
Behind it…
exist other dimensions.
Realms beyond sight.
Worlds beyond matter.
Places where spirit…
is as natural…
as water is for fish.
If oceans are made for fish…
then unseen realms…
are made for beings of spirit.
This is not an empty universe.
It is a living universe.
Humanity itself…
follows Divine guidance.
Through revelation.
Through moral law.
Likewise…
the angels serve another sacred mission.
They carry…
the Divine laws of creation.
Not as independent powers.
But as devoted servants.
Every star…
becomes a place of worship.
Every galaxy…
a sign of obedience.
Every movement…
an act of submission.
Nothing moves alone.
Nothing exists without purpose.
Seen or unseen…
everything belongs…
to one magnificent order.
Perhaps…
the universe has never been silent.
Perhaps…
we simply hear…
only a small part…
of its eternal symphony.
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Original text
The Twenty-Ninth Word
About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead …
First Aim
To believe in the angels and affirm that belief is a pillar of faith. There are four fundamental points in this aim. …
SECOND FUNDAMENTAL POINT
It may be said that all the scholars of the speculative and the scriptural sciences have, knowingly or unknowingly, united to effect a consensus in affirming, despite difference of expression, the existence and reality of the angels and spirit beings. One group of Peripatetic philosophers of the Illuminist School even, who made much progress in the study of matter, stated without denying the meaning of the angels that each realm in creation has a spiritual, incorporeal essence. They described the angels thus. Also, a group of the early philosophers who were Illuminists, being compelled to accept the meaning of the angels, were only wrong in naming them the Ten Intellects and Masters of the Realms of Creation. Through the inspiration and guidance of Revelation, scholars of all the revealed religions have accepted that each realm of creation has an angel appointed to it and have named them the Mountain Angel, the Sea Angel, and the Rain Angel, for example. Even the materialists and naturalists, whose reasoning is restricted to what is immediately apparent to them and who have in effect fallen from the level of humanity to that of inanimate matter, rather than being able to deny the meaning of the angels, {(*): They have been unable to find a way to deny the reality and meaning of the angels and spirit beings. In fact, they have been compelled to affirm them in one respect by claiming them to be one of the natural laws, although they described them wrongly, naming them kuva-yı sâriya or suffusing forces. (Hey you who consider yourselves to be so clever!)} have been compelled to accept them in one respect, though naming them the suffusing forces.
O you wretched man who is reluctant to accept the angels and spirit beings, on what do you base this view? What facts do you rely on that you oppose the conscious or otherwise unanimity of all rational people concerning the existence and reality of the meaning of the angels and the real existence of spirit beings? And since, as was proved in the First Fundamental Point, life is the revealer of beings, indeed, is their consequence, their quintessence; and since all the scholars are in effect unanimous in their acceptance of the meaning of the angels; and this world of ours has been filled to such a degree with animate creatures and beings with spirits; is it all possible that the vastness of space and the rarefied heavens would remain empty of dwellers and have no inhabitants? You should never suppose that the laws in force in this creation are sufficient for the universe to be alive, because those governing laws are insubstantial commands; they are imaginary principles; they may be considered non-existent. If there were no absolutely obedient creatures called angels to represent them, make them apparent, and take their reins into their hands, those laws could not be defined as existent, nor be represented as having a particular identity, nor be an external reality. Whereas, life is an external reality, and an imaginary command cannot sustain an external reality.
In Short: Since the scholars of religion and philosophy, and of the speculative and scriptural sciences, have in effect agreed that beings are not restricted to this Manifest World; and since, despite being inanimate and inappropriate for the formation of spirits, the visible Manifest World has been adorned to such an extent with beings with spirits; existence is surely not limited to it. There are numerous other levels of existence in relation to which the Manifest World is an embroidered veil.
Furthermore, since, just as the sea is appropriate for fish and the World of the Unseen and the World of Meaning appropriate for spirits, and this necessitates their being filled with them; and since all commands testify to the existence of the angels’ meaning; certainly and without any shadow of a doubt, the most beautiful form of the angels’ existence and spirit beings’ reality, and the most rational view of their nature which sound intellects will accept and acclaim, is that which the Qur’an has expounded and elucidated. The Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition states that: “The angels are honoured slaves. Never contesting a command, they do whatever they are ordered. The angels are subtle, luminous beings, and are divided into different kinds.”
Just as humankind is a nation and human beings are the bearers, representatives, and embodiments of the Shari’a or code of divine laws which proceeds from the attribute of divine speech, so are the angels a mighty nation, and those of them who are workers are the bearers, representatives, and embodiments of the code of laws pertaining to creation, which proceeds from the attribute of divine will. They are a class of God’s slaves who are dependent on the commands of the creative power and pre-eternal will, which are the true effective agent, and for whom all the heavenly bodies are places of worship, like mosques.
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words – The Twenty-Ninth Word – About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead, The English translations of the Risale-i Nur Collection, translated by Şükran Vahide and published by Sözler Neşriyat, are an exact printed version of the original text. (erisale.com)
Exploring the Harmony of Science, Philosophy and Faith Through the Risale-i Nur
What if life is not a product of matter, but the very reality that gives matter meaning? Inspired by The Twenty-Ninth Word of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, this article explores the relationship between life, spirit, consciousness, and the existence of angels through reason, observation, and revelation.
The Vitality of Spirit and the Existence of Angels – The Celestial Realms and the Living Universe – A Documentary Narration Inspired by The Twenty-Ninth Word
The Vitality of Spirit and the Existence of Angels
This text and video examines the essential nature of life—the fundamental pillar of existence—and, within a logical framework, explores the existence of angels as an inevitable consequence of this life-giving reality.
The author argues that life is not dependent upon matter; rather, matter is merely a temporary shell that derives its meaning through life and the spirit.
The extraordinary awareness and intricate web of relationships observed even in the smallest living beings point to the existence of a far more comprehensive spiritual life throughout the universe.
According to the author, the vast celestial bodies that appear lifeless, as well as the seemingly empty reaches of space, are inhabited by conscious beings suited to their own nature—namely angels and other spiritual entities.
The limitations of human vision cannot be considered evidence against the existence of these luminous beings, just as the remarkable order and harmony of the universe make the acceptance of such spiritual beings a rational necessity.
In summary, the work emphasizes the supremacy of life over matter and presents both rational and scriptural arguments in support of the existence of angels.
Notebook Gemini
The Celestial Realms and the Living Universe
A Documentary Narration Inspired byThe Twenty-Ninth Word
Look around you.
Everywhere you turn… there is life.
From the smallest seed hidden beneath the soil… to the largest creature crossing the oceans… life transforms everything it touches.
Without life, the universe would be little more than silent matter.
Life gives meaning. Life gives purpose. Life awakens existence itself.
A mountain may stand for millions of years, immense and majestic.
Yet without life, it remains alone… unaware… disconnected from the rest of creation.
Now consider something almost invisible.
A tiny bee.
The moment it comes alive, it enters into a remarkable relationship with the world.
Flowers become its companions. The earth becomes its garden. The seasons become part of its journey.
Though small in size, it belongs to an astonishing web of life.
This is the miracle of life.
It connects. It unites. It reveals.
And if life can accomplish so much in the smallest creature…
What might it accomplish in a conscious human being?
Human consciousness reaches far beyond the limits of the body.
With thought, memory, imagination, and spirit,
we travel to places our feet have never touched.
We contemplate distant galaxies.
We wonder about eternity.
We search for meaning beyond what our eyes can see.
Perhaps this ability points toward a greater reality…
one where consciousness is not an accident, but a sign.
A sign that existence itself is alive.
Now lift your eyes to the heavens.
For centuries, many have looked into the night sky and imagined an endless emptiness.
But is emptiness really what we see?
Our own planet, small among countless worlds, overflows with living creatures.
Every corner of Earth, from the deepest oceans to microscopic worlds unseen by the naked eye, teems with life.
If this tiny planet has been filled with such extraordinary abundance…
Would the vast heavens remain completely empty?
Reason suggests otherwise.
Just as fish are created for the sea, and birds for the sky,
might there not be beings created for the stars?
Beings suited not to earth, but to realms of light.
The visible universe may be only one chapter of a much greater creation.
A creation where life exists in forms beyond our present understanding.
Throughout history, the revealed scriptures have spoken of such beings.
Angels.
Spiritual creatures.
Messengers who belong to dimensions beyond ordinary human perception.
Not because they contradict reason…
but because reality is greater than what the eye alone can measure.
After all, the absence of sight is never proof of absence.
Long before humanity discovered microscopic life, it already existed.
The invisible was always there.
Waiting to be discovered.
Perhaps the same is true of the unseen realms.
Perhaps the universe is far richer, far more populated, and far more alive than we have ever imagined.
The material world may not be the foundation of existence…
but its outer garment.
Beneath it lies something deeper.
Life.
Spirit.
Consciousness.
These are not merely products of matter.
They are the forces that give matter its meaning.
The more finely we examine creation, the more we discover order, purpose, and astonishing harmony.
Nothing appears abandoned.
Nothing seems accidental.
Every level of existence points toward wisdom.
And if wisdom fills the visible world…
why should it stop at the edge of the sky?
Perhaps the heavens are not silent after all.
Perhaps they are alive…
filled with beings perfectly suited to their celestial homes.
A universe without life would be incomplete.
But a universe filled with life…
both seen and unseen…
becomes a far greater masterpiece.
One that invites us to look beyond the stars…
and wonder what glorious realities still remain hidden from our eyes.
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Original text
First Aim
To believe in the angels and affirm that belief is a pillar of faith. There are four fundamental points in this aim.
FIRST FUNDAMENTAL POINT
The perfection of existence is through life. Rather, the true existence of existence is through life. Life is the light of existence, and consciousness is the light of life. Life is the summit and foundation of everything. Life appropriates everything for living beings; it is as though it makes one thing the owner of everything. By virtue of life, a living thing may say: “All these things belong to me. The world is my house. The universe is my property, given to me by my owner.”
Just as light is the cause of things being seen, and, according to some, of the existence of colours, so is life the revealer of beings; it is the cause of their qualities being realized. Furthermore, it makes an insignificant particular general and universal, and is the cause of universal things being concentrated in a particular. It is also the cause of all the perfections of existence, by, for example, making innumerable things co-operate and unite, and making them the means of unity and being endowed with spirit. Life is even a sort of manifestation of divine unity in the levels of multiplicity, and a mirror reflecting divine oneness.
Consider the following: a lifeless object, even if it is a great mountain, is an orphan, a stranger, alone. Its only relations are with the place in which it is situated and with the things which encounter it. Whatever else there is in the cosmos, it does not exist for the mountain. For the mountain has neither life through which it might be related to life, nor consciousness by which it might be concerned.
Now consider a tiny object like a bee, for example. The instant life enters it, it establishes such a connection with the universe that it is as though it concludes a trading agreement with it, especially with the flowers and plants of the earth. It can say: “The earth is my garden; it is my trading house.” Thus, through the unconscious instinctive senses which impel and stimulate it in addition to the well-known five external senses and inner senses of animate beings, the bee has a feeling for, and a familiarity and reciprocal relationship with, most of the species in the world, and they are at its disposal. If life then displays its effect thus in the tiniest of animate beings, certainly when it rises to the highest level, that of man, it will be revealed and extended and illumined to such a degree that just as a human being is able to move through the rooms of his house with his consciousness and mind, which are the light of life, so he may travel through the higher, and the spiritual and corporeal worlds with them. That is to say, just as that conscious and animate being may go in spirit as though as a guest to those worlds, those worlds too come as guests to his mirror-like spirit by being reflected and depicted there.
Life is a brilliant proof of the All-Glorious One’s unity, and one of the greatest sources of His bounty; it is a subtle manifestation of His compassionateness, and a hidden, unknowable, and incomparable embroidery of His art.
Life is hidden and subtle, because the life of plants even, which is the lowest of the levels of life, and the awakening of the life force in seeds, that is, their stirring, opening, and growth, which are the first steps in plant life, has remained unfathomed by human science since the time of Adam, despite being so evident and familiar, so ubiquitous and common. Man’s reason has been unable to discover its true reality.
Moreover, life is so pure and unblemished that in both its aspects, that is in both its inner and outer faces, it is pure, translucent, transparent. Not veiling it with causes, the hand of power touches it directly. Whereas that hand made apparent causes a veil, to be the source of the insignificant aspects of things and their base external qualities, which are inappropriate to the dignity of power.
In Short:
It may be said that if there were no life, existence would not be existence; it would be no different from non-existence. Life is the light of the spirit, and consciousness is the light of life. Since life and consciousness are important to this great extent; and since there is self-evidently an absolutely perfect order in the universe, and a masterly precision and most wise harmony; and since our lowly, wretched globe, our wandering earth has been filled with uncountable numbers of animate beings, intelligent beings, and beings with spirits; it may be concluded with decisive certainty that those heavenly palaces, those lofty constellations also have animate and conscious inhabitants appropriate to them. As fish swim in water, so are those luminous inhabitants present in the fire of the sun. Fire does not consume light; indeed, fire aids light.
Moreover, since, as is plain to see, pre-eternal power creates innumerable animate beings and beings with spirits from the most common substances and densest matter, and giving it great importance, transmutes dense matter by means of life into a subtle substance; and since it strews the light of life everywhere in great abundance, and gilds most things with the light of consciousness; with such flawless power and faultless wisdom, the All-Wise and All-Powerful One would certainly not neglect the other floods of subtle matter like light and ether, which are close to and fitting for the spirit; He would not leave them without life, without consciousness, inanimate. Indeed, He creates animate and conscious beings in great numbers from light, which is also matter, and even from meanings, air, and even words. Just as He creates numerous different species of animals, so from these torrents of subtle matter He creates numerous different spirit creatures. One kind of them are the angels, others are the varieties of spirit beings and jinn. If you wish to see just how true, self-evident, and rational it is to accept the existence of great numbers of angels and spirit beings, and as the Qur’an shows, just how contrary to truth and wisdom, and what a superstition, aberration, delirium and foolishness it is not to accept them, consider the following comparison.
There were two men, one rustic and uncouth, the other civilized and intelligent, who made friends and went to a splendid city like Istanbul. In a distant corner of that civilized, magnificent city they came across a dirty, wretched little building, a factory. They looked and saw that the strange factory was full of miserable, impoverished men working. All around the building were beings with spirits and animate beings, but their means of livelihood and conditions of life were such that some were herbivorous, they lived only on plants, while others were piscivorous, they ate nothing but fish.
The two men watched the scene. Then they saw in the distance thousands of adorned palaces and lofty castles. Among the palaces were spacious workshops and broad squares. Because of either the distance, or the defectiveness of the men’s eyesight, or because they had hidden themselves, the inhabitants of the palaces were not visible to the two men. Moreover, the wretched conditions in the factory were not to be seen in the palaces. In consequence of this, the uncouth country bumpkin, who had never before seen a city, declared: “Those palaces have no inhabitants, they are empty, there are no beings with spirits in them,” uttering ignorant garbled nonsense. To which the second man replied:
“O you miserable man! This insignificant little building you see here has been filled with beings endowed with spirits, with workers, and there is someone who continually employs and replaces them. Look, there no empty space anywhere around this factory, it has been filled with animate beings and beings with spirits. Do you think it is at all possible that there would be no high-ranking and suitable inhabitants in such an orderly city, in those wisely adorned palaces so full of art which we can see in the distance? Of course they are occupied, and the different conditions of life there are appropriate for those who live there. In place of grass, they eat pastries, and in place of fish, cakes. Their not being visible to you because of the distance, or your weak eyesight, or their hiding themselves, can at no time point to their not being there.” The fact that a thing is not visible does not indicate its non-existence.
As the above comparison indicates, the fact that the globe of the earth is the home of these infinite numbers of beings endowed with consciousness and spirit, despite its insignificance and density among the lofty heavenly bodies and planets, and even its grossest and rottenest particulars becoming masses of micro-organisms when they cease as sources of life, necessarily, demonstrably, decisively indicates and testifies to and proclaims that infinite space and the majestic heavens with their constellations and stars are full of animate beings, conscious beings, and beings with spirits. The Illustrious Shari’a of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) and the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition call these beings, who are created from fire, light, and even from electricity, and from other subtle flowing matter, “The angels, the jinn, and spirit beings.” There are different kinds of angels, just as there are different kinds of corporeal beings. Indeed, the angel who is appointed to a raindrop will not be similar in kind to the angel appointed to the sun. There are also a great many different sorts of jinn and spirit beings.
The Conclusion of this Fundamental Point
As may be established empirically, matter is not essential so that exis-tence may be made subject to it and dependent on it. Rather, matter subsists through a meaning, and that meaning is life, it is spirit.
Also, as may be established through observation, matter is not the thing served so that everything may be ascribed to it. It is rather the servant; it renders service to the process of the perfection of a truth. And that truth is life, and the fundament of that truth is spirit. Also, as is self-evident, matter is not dominant so that recourse may be made to it or perfections sought from it. Rather, it is dominated; it looks to the decree of some fundament, it is in motion in the way that that decree dictates. And that fundament is life, it is spirit, it is consciousness.
Also, as is necessary, matter is not the kernel, it is not the fundament, it is not a settled abode so that events and perfections may be affixed to it or constructed on it. Rather, it is a shell prepared to be split, rent, dissolved; it is a husk, it is froth, it is a form. Consider the following: a creature so minute it can only be seen with a microscope has such acute senses it can hear its friend’s voice and see its sustenance; it has extremely sensitive and sharp senses. This demonstrates that the effects of life increase and the light of the spirit intensifies proportionately to the reducing and refining of matter. It is as though the more matter is refined and the more we become distanced from our material existences the closer we draw to the world of the spirit, the world of life, and the world of consciousness; and the more intensely the heat of the spirit and the light of life are manifested.
Is it therefore at all possible that there should be so many distillations of life, consciousness, and spirit within the veil of materiality, and that the inner world which is beyond this veil should not be full of conscious beings and beings with spirits? Is it at all possible that the sources of these numberless distillations, flashes, and fruits of meaning, spirit, life and the truth apparent in this material existence in the Manifest World should be ascribed only to matter and the motion of matter, and be explained by it? God forbid! Absolutely not! These innumerable distillations and flashes demonstrate that this material and manifest world is but a lace veil strewn over the inner and spirit worlds.
SOURCES
Risale-i Nur Okuma Programı 2.1.0, Words[2021] – 537, email: syesilova72@gmail.com
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words – The Twenty-Ninth Word – About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead, The English translations of the Risale-i Nur Collection, translated by Şükran Vahide and published by Sözler Neşriyat, are an exact printed version of the original text. (erisale.com)
The Twenty-Ninth Word – About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead – Introduction
The Celestial Realms and the Immortality of the Spirit
This text and videos reveals the spiritual depth of the universe by explaining the existence of angels and other spiritual beings through both rational and scriptural evidence.
According to the author, just as the earth, overflowing with life, is not empty, the magnificent heavens are likewise populated with conscious beings suited to their nature.
The unparalleled artistry and adornment throughout the universe necessarily imply the existence of spiritual observers capable of appreciating such beauty, for the limited worship of human beings and jinn alone is insufficient to correspond to these vast manifestations of divine activity.
Divine wisdom, which brings life forth from material elements, also makes it rationally inevitable that living beings should be created from subtle substances such as light and air.
Accordingly, angels carry out their duties in every realm—from the stars to the raindrops—representing and proclaiming the Creator’s absolute sovereignty.
In conclusion, the text seeks to demonstrate, through an unshakable chain of logical reasoning, both the immortality of the soul and the reality of these unseen beings.
NotebookLM
The Celestial Realms and the Immortality of the Spirit
A Documentary Narration Inspired byThe Twenty-Ninth Word
Look up at the night sky.
It appears silent.
Empty.
Endless.
But what if it is none of those things?
What if the heavens are filled with life… beyond anything we can see?
According to The Twenty-Ninth Word by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, the universe is not merely a collection of stars and galaxies.
It is a living kingdom.
A realm inhabited by conscious beings.
Just as Earth overflows with life, the heavens are not left empty.
Reason points to this conclusion.
And revelation confirms it.
Our planet is small compared to the vast universe.
Yet it is crowded with living creatures.
Generation after generation, life appears again and again.
If this tiny world is full of life…
How could the immeasurable heavens remain deserted?
The universe is filled with astonishing beauty.
Every star.
Every galaxy.
Every law of nature.
Every detail reflects extraordinary wisdom.
But beauty longs to be witnessed.
Art seeks an admirer.
A masterpiece is made to be appreciated.
Humanity sees only a tiny fraction of creation.
Our worship…
Our reflection…
Our understanding…
They are precious.
But they are limited.
The grandeur of the cosmos calls for countless witnesses.
Beings who observe.
Who contemplate.
Who glorify.
These are the angels.
According to this view, angels are not distant symbols.
They are active participants in creation.
Each fulfills a unique purpose.
From the greatest stars…
To the smallest raindrop…
Every realm has servants appointed to it.
They proclaim the glory of the Creator.
They bear witness to His sovereignty.
Divine wisdom offers another sign.
Life emerges from soil.
From water.
From matter itself.
If the Creator brings living beings from dense substances…
Why should He not create living beings from light?
From air.
From subtle realities beyond our senses.
What seems impossible to us…
May simply belong to another order of existence.
The unseen is not irrational.
It is only unseen.
The visible universe may be only one layer of reality.
Beyond it lies a world filled with purpose.
With consciousness.
With worship.
And if the spirit belongs to that higher order…
Then death cannot be its end.
The body returns to the earth.
But the spirit continues its journey.
The existence of angels…
And the immortality of the soul…
Become parts of the same magnificent picture.
A universe where nothing meaningful is ever truly lost.
Where life extends beyond what the eye can see.
And where every corner of creation…
Visible and invisible…
Declares the greatness of its Creator.
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Original text
The Twenty-Ninth Word
About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Therein came down the angels and the Spirit by the permission of their Sustainer. (97:4) *
Say: The Spirit [comes] by command of my Sustainer. (17:85)
[This treatise consists of an introduction and two main aims]
Introduction
It may be said that the existence of the angels and spirit beings is as definite as that of human beings and animals. Indeed, as is explained in the First Step of the Fifteenth Word, reality undoubtedly requires and wisdom certainly demands that like the earth the heavens have inhabitants, and that its inhabitants are intelligent, and suitable for the heavens. In the tongue of the Shari’a, those inhabitants, of which there are numerous kinds, are called angels and spirit beings.
Reality requires it to be thus. For despite the earth’s smallness and insignificance in relation to the heavens, its being filled with intelligent beings and from time to time being emptied and then refilled with new ones suggests – indeed, states clearly – that the heavens too, with their majestic constellations like adorned palaces, are filled with animate creatures, the light of the light of existence, and conscious and intelligent creatures, the light of animate creatures. Like man and the jinn, those creatures are spectators of the palace of the world, and ponderers over the book of the universe, and heralds of this realm of dominicality. With their universal and comprehensive worship, they represent the glorification of the universe’s large and universal beings.
The nature of the universe surely points to their existence. For since it is embellished and decked out with uncountable numbers of finely adorned works of art and meaningful decorations and wise embroideries, it self-evidently requires the gazes of thoughtful admirers and wondering, appreciative lovers; it demands their existence. Yes, just as beauty requires a lover, so is food is given to the hungry. Thus, the sustenance of spirits and nourishment of hearts in this boundless beauty of art looks to the angels and spirit beings; it points to them. For while such infinite adornment requires an infinite duty of contemplation and worship, man and the jinn can perform only a millionth of that infinite duty, that wise supervision, that extensive worship. This means that boundless varieties of angels and spirit beings are necessary to perform those duties, and to fill and inhabit the mighty mosque of the world with their ranks.
Indeed, a species of the spirit beings and angels is present in every aspect, in every sphere, of the universe, each charged with a duty of worship. It may be said in accordance with both the narrations of Hadiths and the wisdom in the order of the world that from lifeless planets and stars to raindrops, all are ships or vehicles for a kind of angel. The angels mount these vehicles with divine permission and travel observing the Manifest World; they represent their praise and glorification.
It also may be said that certain sorts of living bodies act as aircraft for different kinds of spirits. From the birds of Paradise, called the Green Birds in a Hadith which says: “The spirits of the people of Paradise enter into Green Birds in the Intermediate Realm and travel around Paradise in them,” {[*]: See, Muslim, Imâra, 121; Tirmidhî, Tafsîr Sûra Âl-i ‘Imrân, 19; Fadâ’il al-Jihâd, 13; Ibn Mâja, Janâ’iz, 4; Dârimî, Jihâd, 18; Musnad, i, 266; vi, 386.} to flies, each is the vehicle for a sort of spirit. The spirits enter into them at a divine command, and through such faculties and senses of those living bodies as the eyes and ears, observe the miracles of creation in the corporeal world. They perform the glorification particular to each.
Just as reality necessitates it to be thus, so does wisdom. For, with an intense activity, the All-Wise Maker continuously creates subtle life and luminous intelligent beings from dense earth, which has little connection with spirit, and from turbid water, which has small relation with the light of life. He surely then creates certain sorts of intelligent beings from the seas of light and even from the oceans of darkness, from the air, electricity, and other subtle matter suitable for spirit and appropriate for life. And surely these creatures are exceedingly numerous.
SOURCES
Risale-i Nur Okuma Programı 2.1.0, Words[2021] – 535, email: syesilova72@gmail.com
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words – The Twenty-Ninth Word – About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead, The English translations of the Risale-i Nur Collection, translated by Şükran Vahide and published by Sözler Neşriyat, are an exact printed version of the original text. (erisale.com)
A Short Addendum to the Word on Paradise – On Hell – The Twenty-Eighth Word – Words
The Seeds of Eternity: Belief and the Necessity of Hell
This text and video examines the fundamental difference between faith and disbelief, explaining the spiritual consequences of disbelief through the necessity of Hell. According to the author, faith carries within it the seed of Paradise, while denial contains both the seed of Hell and the very reason for the creation of this place of punishment. Accusing the Creator, who possesses infinite glory and power, of weakness and rejecting His promises are described as the greatest insults against divine dignity.
The text illustrates this point by giving the example of an earthly ruler who would establish prisons for those who disregard his authority, emphasizing that disbelief must inevitably face punishment. In conclusion, the existence of Hell is presented as an unavoidable requirement of divine justice and infinite majesty.
This work argues that disbelief is not merely an idea or opinion, but rather an act of rebellion against the universal order.
A world where every act of cruelty goes unanswered. Where every lie has the same value as the truth. Where arrogance stands unchallenged.
Could such a world ever be called just?
This question lies at the heart of one of the most profound passages in The Twenty-Eighth Word by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi.
His focus is not fear.
It is justice.
It is the relationship between belief, unbelief, and the necessity of Hell.
The author begins with a striking comparison.
Earlier in the Risale-i Nur, he explains that faith carries within it the seed of a spiritual Paradise.
Unbelief carries the seed of a spiritual Hell.
These are not merely future destinations.
They begin as realities within the human heart.
Every belief shapes a person from within.
Every denial leaves its own mark.
Just as a tiny seed contains the blueprint of a great tree, belief contains the promise of eternal happiness.
Unbelief contains the beginning of separation, darkness, and loss.
The destination grows naturally from the seed.
Paradise is the fruit of faith.
Hell is the fruit of unbelief.
But the author goes one step further.
He argues that unbelief is not only the reason a person may enter Hell.
It is also one of the reasons Hell itself exists.
At first, this may seem like a surprising claim.
To explain it, he gives a simple example.
Imagine a ruler.
His authority is limited.
His power is small.
One day, someone openly insults him.
The person says with complete arrogance,
“You cannot punish me.”
“And even if you wanted to, you have no prison.”
Suppose there truly is no prison.
What happens next?
According to the author, the ruler would almost certainly build one.
Not because he enjoys punishment.
But because justice demands it.
His authority cannot simply be mocked without consequence.
Even an ordinary human ruler would defend the dignity of his office.
Now the comparison becomes much greater.
Human rulers possess only a tiny fraction of authority.
Their dignity is limited.
Their power is temporary.
But God possesses infinite majesty.
Infinite glory.
Infinite power.
Infinite wisdom.
When a person denies His existence…
Or rejects His justice…
Or claims, through disbelief, that there will never be accountability…
The author says this is far more than a simple intellectual disagreement.
It becomes a denial of infinite truth.
A rejection of divine justice.
A challenge against the One whose authority encompasses the entire universe.
In this perspective, unbelief is not merely the absence of faith.
It becomes an act of refusing the reality established by the Creator.
The passage describes this denial in powerful language.
It says that disbelief accuses the Creator of weakness.
It rejects His promises.
It dismisses His justice.
It refuses His authority.
Such denial is not insignificant.
It carries immense consequences.
This is why the author argues that Hell is not an unnecessary addition to creation.
It is part of the complete order of divine justice.
Without justice, the moral structure of the universe would remain unfinished.
The author even presents an extraordinary statement.
He says that even if there were, hypothetically, no other reason for Hell to exist, unbelief alone would make its existence necessary.
Not because punishment is the goal.
But because justice cannot remain incomplete.
A universe governed by perfect wisdom also requires perfect accountability.
This raises an important question.
Why does belief matter so deeply?
According to this understanding, belief is not only about accepting certain ideas.
It is about recognizing reality itself.
It is about acknowledging the One who created existence.
Every blessing.
Every law of nature.
Every moment of life.
Every breath.
Every star in the night sky.
All point toward their Creator.
To deny that reality is, in this view, to reject the deepest truth behind existence itself.
And every rejection carries consequences.
Not because God needs recognition.
But because human beings shape themselves through the choices they freely make.
Faith transforms the soul.
Unbelief transforms it as well.
Both grow from seeds planted during earthly life.
The harvest comes later.
This perspective also reminds us that divine justice is never separated from divine mercy.
Throughout the Qur’an, God’s mercy is described as vast beyond imagination.
Human beings are constantly invited to believe.
To reflect.
To repent.
To return.
Punishment is never presented as the first invitation.
Mercy comes first.
Guidance comes first.
Opportunity comes first.
Only persistent rejection of that guidance leads to accountability.
The passage therefore is not merely about Hell.
It is about the seriousness of human freedom.
Every person has the ability to choose.
To believe.
Or to deny.
To seek truth.
Or to turn away from it.
Those choices are never meaningless.
They shape both the present life and the eternal one.
The author concludes by reminding the reader of a verse from the Qur’an.
“Our Sustainer, You did not create this without purpose.
Glory be to You.
Protect us from the punishment of the Fire.”
This prayer captures the central message of the passage.
Creation has meaning.
Justice has meaning.
Human choice has meaning.
Nothing in existence is without purpose.
According to The Twenty-Eighth Word, Hell is not simply a place of punishment.
It is part of a universe built upon perfect justice.
A justice in which every choice matters.
Every action has meaning.
And every human soul is invited to seek the truth before its final destination is revealed.
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Original text
The Twenty-Eighth Word – Words
A Short Addendum to the Word on Paradise
On Hell
As is proved in the Second and Eighth Words, belief bears the seed of a sort of Paradise, while unbelief conceals the seed of a sort of Hell. And just as unbelief is a seed of Hell, so Hell is one of its fruits. And just as unbelief is the reason for being sent to Hell, so it is the cause of Hell’s existence and creation. For if an insignificant ruler of small dignity, small pride, and small majesty is told impudently by some unmannerly person: “You may not punish me and you cannot,” if there is no prison in that place, the ruler will certainly have one built for him and will throw him into it. However, by denying Hell, the unbeliever is giving the lie to One of infinite dignity, pride, and glory, Who is sublimely and infinitely powerful, and is accusing Him of impotence, lying, and powerlessness; he is insulting terribly His dignity and offending His pride. He is rebelliously causing affront to His glory. If, to suppose the impossible, there were no reason for Hell’s existence, it would certainly be created for unbelief, which comprises denial and ascribing impotence to this degree, and such an unbeliever would certainly be cast into it.
Our Sustainer! You did not create that in vain. Glory be unto You! Save us from the penalty of the Fire! (3:191)
SOURCES
Risale-i Nur Okuma Programı 2.1.0, Words[2021] – 534, email: syesilova72@gmail.com
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words – The Twenty-Eighth Word – This Word is about Paradise, The English translations of the Risale-i Nur Collection, translated by Şükran Vahide and published by Sözler Neşriyat, are an exact printed version of the original text. (erisale.com)
“Some of the people of Paradise are given lands as extensive as the world, and thousands of palaces and hundreds of thousands of houris are bestowed on them.” What need has a single person of all these things, why should it be necessary? How can this be and what does it mean?
Why would a single person need countless palaces, immense estates, and endless blessings in Paradise?
At first glance, the descriptions found in authentic hadiths may seem difficult to reconcile with human experience.
In The Twenty-Eighth Word, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi offers a profound explanation: the human being is not merely a physical body but a creation endowed with infinite spiritual capacity, limitless desires, and countless subtle faculties.
When viewed through this perspective, the vast rewards of Paradise become a natural manifestation of God’s infinite mercy rather than an exaggeration.
This article explores how the Risale-i Nur explains the relationship between human nature, eternity, and the boundless blessings of Paradise.
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The Infinite Capacity of the Human Soul in Paradise
This text and video address the vastness of human capacity and the faculty of desire by explaining the nature of the immense rewards and expansive estates in eternal Paradise.
The author responds to the question of why a single inhabitant of Paradise would be granted lands as vast as entire worlds and countless blessings, drawing on the spiritual depth of the human being and their insatiable innate nature (fıtrat).
Even within the constrained conditions of earthly life, attention is drawn to the vastness of human imagination, and it is argued that the multiplicity and expansiveness found in Paradise become reasonable in light of the ability of luminous beings (nurani varlıklar) to exist in many places at once.
It is emphasized that once a person is freed from the material heaviness of this world and attains spiritual agility, they become worthy of these great rewards as a reflection of divine mercy.
In conclusion, it is stated that the boundless blessings of Paradise must be assessed not through the narrow molds of the worldly realm, but through the lens of the infinitude of divine power.
This Word is about Paradise and consists of two Stations.
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The brief answers to a number of questions about eternal Paradise.
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QUESTION:
It says in Hadiths: “Some of the people of Paradise are given lands as extensive as the world, and thousands of palaces and hundreds of thousands of houris are bestowed on them.”3
(3- Bukhari, Janna, 17; Tafsir Sura al-Qiyama, 2.)
What need has a single person of all these things, why should it be necessary? How can this be and what does it mean?
THE ANSWER:
If man was only a lifeless being, or was only a vegetable creature consisting of a stomach, or consisted only of a limited, heavy, temporary, simple corporeality or animal body, he could not own many palaces and houris, or be fit for them. But man is such a comprehensive miracle of power that even in this transitory world and brief life, if he is given the rule of all the world with its wealth and pleasures, his ambition is not satisfied – in respect of the need of some of his subtle faculties, which do not develop here. It is therefore reasonable, right, and true that a person possessing an infinite capacity who knocks on the door of an infinite mercy with the hand of infinite desires and the tongue of infinite needs will receive in an eternal abode of bliss the Divine bounties described in Hadiths. We shall observe this elevated truth through the telescope of a comparison. It is as follows:
Although, like this valley garden,1
(1- That is, the garden of Suleyman, who served this poor one with perfect loyalty for eight years, where this Word was written in one or two hours.)
all these gardens and vineyards of Barla have different owners, all the birds and sparrows and honey-bees in Barla, who have only a handful of grain for food, may say: “All the gardens and orchards of Barla are my pleasant resorts where I fly around and enjoy myself.” Each may take possession of Barla and include it in its property. Others sharing it does not invalidate his ownership. Similarly, a man who is a true human being may say: “My Creator made this world a house for me. The sun is my lamp and the stars my electric lights. The face of the earth is my resting-place spread with flowered carpets.” And he offers thanks to God. The other creatures sharing it does not negate his statement. On the contrary, the creatures adorn his house like decorations. And so, if in this narrow fleeting world, by virtue of his humanity, man – and even a bird – claims a sort of power of disposal over such a vast sphere and receives such a vast bounty, how can it be deemed unlikely that he is given ownership of a property stretching over a five hundred year distance in a broad and eternal abode of bliss?
Moreover, just as in this dense and dark narrow world the sun is present in the same way at the same time in numerous mirrors, so too, as is proved in the Sixteenth Word, a luminous being may be present in many places in the same way at the same time. For example, Gabriel (Peace be upon him) being on a thousand stars simultaneously, and at the Divine Throne, and in the presence of the Prophet (PBUH), and in the Divine Presence; and the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) meeting with most of the righteous of his community at the resurrection of the dead at the same time and appearing in this world in innumerable places simultaneously; and a strange group of the saints known as abdal, appearing at the same time in many places; and ordinary people sometimes carrying out as much as a year’s work in one minute in a dream and observing this; and everyone being in contact with and concerned with numerous places at the same time in their hearts, spirits, and imaginations – all these are well-known and may be witnessed. Most certainly, in Paradise, therefore, which is luminous, unrestricted, broad, and eternal, the people of Paradise, whose bodies have the strength and lightness of the spirit and the swiftness of imagination, being in hundreds of thousands of places at the same time, and conversing with hundreds of thousands of houris, and receiving pleasure in hundreds of thousands of ways, is fitting for that eternal Paradise, that infinite mercy, and as told by the Bringer of Sure News (PBUH), is reality and the truth. Nevertheless, these vast truths cannot be weighed on the scales of our tiny minds.
This tiny mind cannot perceive the true meanings,
For this scale cannot bear such a weight.
Glory be unto to You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.1 (1- Qur’an, 2:32).
O our Sustainer! Do not call us to task if we forget or fall into error.2 (2- Qur’an, 2:286).
O God! Grant blessings to Your Beloved, who by being Your Beloved and through his prayers, flung open the doors of Paradise, and because of the benedictions for him of its members, You confirmed its opening for his community, and bless him and grant him peace.
O God! Appoint us to Paradise among the righteous, through the intercession of Your Beloved, the Chosen One. Amen.
SOURCES
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words – The Twenty-Eighth Word – This Word is about Paradise, The English translations of the Risale-i Nur Collection, translated by Şükran Vahide and published by Sözler Neşriyat, are an exact printed version of the original text. (erisale.com)
The Heavenly Riddle or Decoding Paradise – It is said in Hadiths: “Although the houris are clothed in seventy garments, the marrow of their leg-bones may be seen.” What does this mean? What sort of meaning can it have? What sort of beauty is this?
The Infinite Allure of Paradise and the Houris
This text and video are based on a passage from The Twenty-Eighth Word, a work by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi that explores the nature of Paradise (Jannah) and the mysteries of its incomparable beauty.
The author explains the Prophetic tradition (hadith) describing the houris (ḥūr al-ʿayn) as wearing seventy layers of garments while the marrow of their bones remains visible, interpreting it as an expression of perfect aesthetic beauty in which every human faculty and sense experiences its own distinct delight.
Unlike worldly existence, the inhabitants of the Hereafter are described as being completely free from bodily waste, reflecting the attainment of the highest and purest form of life.
According to this text, Paradise is not merely a place of visual beauty but a realm of complete happiness that satisfies every physical and spiritual faculty of the human being.
This passage offers a rational and profound explanation of the deeper wisdom behind the descriptions found in the sacred texts, revealing the flawless nature of eternal bliss and the perfect harmony of life in Paradise.
This Word is about Paradise and consists of two Stations.
…
The brief answers to a number of questions about eternal Paradise.
…
QUESTION:
It is said in Hadiths: “Although the houris are clothed in seventy garments, the marrow of their leg-bones may be seen.”2 (Muslim, Janna, 14, 17; Tirmidhi, Qiyama, 60; Janna, 5; Musnad, ii, 345; iii, 16.)
What does this mean? What sort of meaning can it have? What sort of beauty is this?
THE ANSWER:
Its meaning is truly beautiful and its beauty is most lovely. It is like this: in this world, which is ugly, inanimate, lifeless, and for the most part just a husk, beauty and loveliness only appear beautiful to the eye, and so long as familiarity is not an obstacle, that is sufficient. Whereas in Paradise, which is beautiful, living, brilliant, and entirely the essence without the husk and the kernel without the shell, like the eye, all man’s senses and subtle faculties will want to receive their different pleasures and various delights from the houris, the gentle sex, and from the women of this world, who will be like houris and even more beautiful. That is to say, the Hadith indicates that from the beauty of their top garments to the marrow of their bones, each layer will be the means of pleasure to a sense and a subtle faculty. Yes, by saying, “The houris wear seventy garments and the marrow of their leg-bones can be seen,” the Hadith points out that however many senses, feeling, powers, and faculties man has which are enamoured of beauty, worship pleasure, are captivated by ornament, and yearn for loveliness, the houris comprise all of them – every sort of adornment and exquisite loveliness, physical and spiritual and immaterial, which will please and satisfy all of them, and gratify them and make them all happy.
That is to say, just as the houris are clothed in seventy of the varieties of the adornment of Paradise, and not one sort, none of which conceal the others; so they display beauty and loveliness perhaps seventy times greater than their own bodies and beings, all of different sorts and varieties. They demonstrate the truth indicated by the verse:
There will be there all that the souls could desire and all that the eyes could delight in.1 (Qur’an, 43:71.)
There is also a Hadith which states that since in Paradise there are no unnecessary, extraneous, waste-matters, the people of Paradise will not excrete waste after eating and drinking.2 (Bukhari, Bad’u’l-Khalq, 8; Muslim, Janna, 17-19; Tirmidhi, Janna, 7; Darimi, Riqaq, 104.)
Since in this lowly world, trees, the most ordinary of living beings, do not excrete despite taking in much nourishment, why should the people of Paradise, who are the highest class of life?
SOURCES
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words – The Twenty-Eighth Word – This Word is about Paradise, The English translations of the Risale-i Nur Collection, translated by Şükran Vahide and published by Sözler Neşriyat, are an exact printed version of the original text. (erisale.com)
How Can People of Different Spiritual Ranks Be Together in Jannah Paradise – The Twenty Eighth Word
The Twenty-Eighth Word: Reflections on the Levels of Paradise
This text is an excerpt from the Risale-i Nur collection by the renowned Islamic scholar Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. It explores the nature of social companionship in eternal Paradise and addresses the differences in the spiritual ranks of its inhabitants.
Drawing upon a Prophetic tradition (hadith), the author presents a logical explanation of how friends with varying spiritual degrees can still be together in Paradise.
Using the analogy of a grand banquet, the text illustrates that although everyone may be present in the same place, each individual experiences its blessings according to their own capacity and spiritual aptitude. The existence of different levels within Paradise does not prevent loved ones from being together, since all of its realms exist under the embrace of the same Divine mercy.
Ultimately, the text argues that even the vast differences between people’s spiritual capacities do not hinder the reunion of friends and loved ones, because the boundless nature and all-encompassing reality of Paradise transcend such distinctions.
This Word is about Paradise and consists of two Stations.
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The brief answers to a number of questions about eternal Paradise.
…
QUESTION:
According to the meaning of:
Everyone will be together with those he loves, 3 (Bukhari, Adab, 96; Muslim, Birr, 165; Tirmidhi, Zuhd, 50; Da’wat, 98.)
in Paradise, friend will be together with friend. Therefore, love for God’s sake kindled in a simple nomad during one minute’s conversation with the Prophet (PBUH), means he has to be with the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) in Paradise. But since God’s Noble Messenger (PBUH) receives limitless effulgence, how can it be united with that of a simple nomad?
THE ANSWER:
We shall allude to this elevated truth with a comparison. For example, a magnificent personage set up a vast banquet and finely-adorned spectacle in a splendid garden. He prepared it in such a way that it included all the delicious foods that the sense of taste can experience, and all the fine things that please the sense of sight, and all the wonders that amuse the faculty of imagination, and so on; he included in it everything that would gratify and give pleasure to the external and inner senses. Now, there were two friends and they went together to the banquet and sat down at a table in a pavilion. But the sense of taste of one of them was very limited, so he received only minor pleasure. His eyes could see only a little, he had no sense of smell, and he could not understand the wondrous arts nor comprehend the marvels. He could only benefit from and take pleasure in a thousandth or even a millionth of that beautiful place, to the extent of his capacity. The other man however had developed his outer and inner senses, his mind, heart, emotions, and subtle faculties so perfectly and to such a degree that although he was next to his friend, he could perceive and experience all the subtleties and beauties and marvels and fine things in the exhibition, and receive their different pleasures.
Since this confused, sorrowful, and narrow world is thus, and although the greatest and the least are together, the difference between them is as great as from the ground to the Pleiades, surely in Paradise, the realm of bliss and eternity, while friend is together with friend, each will receive his share from the table of the Most Merciful and Compassionate One in accordance with his capacity and to the extent of his abilities. Even if the Paradises in which they are found are different, it will not be an obstacle to their being together. For although the eight levels of Paradise are one above the other, the roof of all of them is the Sublime Throne.1 If there are walled circles round a conical mountain, one within the other and one above the other from its foot to the summit, the circles are one over the other and look to one another, but do not prevent each other seeing the sun. There are also various narrations of Hadiths indicating that the Paradises are in a manner close to this.
SOURCES
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words – The Twenty-Eighth Word – This Word is about Paradise, The English translations of the Risale-i Nur Collection, translated by Şükran Vahide and published by Sözler Neşriyat, are an exact printed version of the original text. (erisale.com)
