Tag: Islamic Theology

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For if the Creator has given the spirit existence… And if the Creator wills its permanence… Then what power could compel it to perish? – 29th WORD 4th SOURCE

This text and video are based on an excerpt from The Twenty-Ninth Word in the Risale-i Nur Collection and explore the immortality (eternity) of the human spirit and its relationship with the World of Divine Command (Ālam al-Amr).

The main ideas and key points of the text are as follows:

The Nature and Origin of the Spirit: As expressed in Verse 85 of Surah Al-Isra (“Say: The spirit is of the command of my Lord”), the spirit originates from the World of Divine Command and the Divine Will. It is a living and conscious law to which Eternal Power has bestowed an external, tangible existence.

A Comparison with the Laws of Nature: The laws governing nature, which seemingly possess no independent external existence, also originate from the World of Divine Command. For example, when a fig tree dies, the law governing its formation remains preserved in its seed. These unconscious laws endure without corruption or alteration, even when the physical structures they govern disintegrate.

The Spirit’s Attainment of Eternity: If even the weakest and unconscious laws of Divine Command can preserve their existence and continuity, then it is all the more certain and necessary that the human spirit—which is stronger, more exalted, living, and conscious—should attain eternity.

THE TWENTY-NINTH WORD

SECOND AIM

FIRST FUNDAMENTAL POINT

FOURTH SOURCE

Look closely at the laws that govern life.

They are everywhere.

Silent.
Constant.
And remarkably enduring.

They shape the living world.
They guide the development of countless forms.
And they preserve the essential patterns of creation.

In a certain sense, these laws resemble the human spirit.

They originate from the World of Divine Command and Will.

Their nature is suited to the spirit.
Yet they lack one thing.

A visible, external existence.

Imagine, for a moment, that these laws were given such an existence.

What would happen?

Each law would become, in effect, the spirit of a species.

And here we discover something remarkable.

These laws endure.

They remain constant.
They preserve their unity.
They are not destroyed by change or transformation.

Consider a fig tree.

One day, the tree may wither.
Its branches may fall.
Its physical form may disappear.

Yet something remains.

The law of its formation continues within its tiny seeds.

The tree itself may be gone.

But the principle that shapes it lives on.

It has not perished.

Now consider what this means.

Even simple and seemingly insignificant laws can possess such continuity.

Even laws without consciousness can endure beyond the forms they govern.

Then what of the human spirit?

Could it be destined for something less?

Something that merely continues?

Or does its nature point toward a far greater reality?

The Qur’an offers a profound insight.

It declares:

“Say: The Spirit is of the command of my Sustainer.”

Qur’an, 17:85.

The spirit, then, is not merely a product of physical matter.

It belongs to a different order of existence.

It is a living and conscious law.

It comes from the World of Divine Command.

And through the power of the Eternal Creator, it has been given an external existence.

Here, the argument takes a deeper turn.

If unconscious laws, proceeding from Divine Will, can endure through change…

Then surely the human spirit has an even stronger claim to permanence.

For it shares their origin.

It emerges from the same World of Command.

And it is connected to the same Divine Will.

But the spirit possesses qualities that these laws do not.

It has a real, external existence.

It is conscious.

And it is alive.

Think about that for a moment.

A law may preserve a pattern.

But the human spirit possesses awareness.

A law may continue without knowing that it exists.

But the spirit experiences life.

It knows.
It perceives.
It reflects.

And this gives the human spirit a special place among the realities of creation.

If even unconscious laws can endure…

Then the conscious human spirit has an even greater reason to be connected with permanence.

Not merely survival.

Not merely continuation.

But a destiny that reaches beyond the limits of this world.

And perhaps this is the essential point.

The human spirit is not simply something that exists for a moment and then disappears.

Its origin points beyond the temporary.

Its nature suggests continuity.

And its consciousness opens the door to a deeper understanding of eternity.

For if the Creator has given the spirit existence…

And if the Creator wills its permanence…

Then what power could compel it to perish?

The question is no longer simply whether the human spirit can endure.

The deeper question is this:

Why should a spirit, created with such a nature, be destined for extinction?

Perhaps the signs of eternity are already written into the very nature of our existence.

We need only learn how to see them.

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THE TWENTY-NINTH WORD
…


SECOND AIM
…


FIRST FUNDAMENTAL POINT
…

FOURTH SOURCE: 

Consider the laws that govern in species, for they resemble the spirit to a degree: since they issue from the World of the Divine Command and Will, by virtue of their source, they are to some extent appropriate for the spirit and only lack a perceptible existence. Study them and it will be seen that if those commanding laws were clothed in external existence, each of them would become the spirit of a species. Moreover, the laws are always permanent; they are perpetual and constant. No change or transformation affects their unity, or spoils them.
   For example, should a fig tree die and be dispersed, the law of its formation, which is like its spirit, will persist in its tiny seeds; it will not die. Therefore, since even commonplace and weak commanding laws are thus connected to permanence and continuance, the human spirit must be connected not only with permanence and immortality, but with all eternity. For according to the Qur’an’s glorious decree of:
   Say: The Spirit (comes) by command of my Sustainer, (17:85)
spirit too is a conscious and living law which proceeds from the World of the Divine Command and which pre-eternal power has clothed with external existence. That is to say, just as the unconscious laws which proceed from the divine attribute of will and the World of the Divine Command are always, or mostly, enduring, so it is even more definite that the spirit, which is a sort of brother to them, and like them is a manifestation of the attribute of will and comes from the World of the Command, manifests immortality. It is also more worthy of it, because it is existent, it has an external reality. And it is more potent, more elevated, because it possesses consciousness. It is also more enduring than them, and more valuable, because it is living.

SOURCES
Risale-i Nur Okuma Programı 2.1.0, Words[2021] – 551, 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)

https://www.erisale.com/tr/sozler/yirmidokuzuncu-soz-ikinci-maksad#4222

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Think of the New World. America. We may never have seen it with our own eyes. Yet we do not doubt that it exists. – 29th WORD – Bediüzzaman Said Nursi

The Eternity of the Human Spirit and Why God Will Not Destroy It

The presented text and video explain the immortality of the human spirit and its existence after death through rational and philosophical arguments.

The author argues that, because the spirit is simple and indivisible in its nature, it cannot be fragmented or destroyed. Therefore, unlike the physical body, the spirit possesses an inherent nature suited to eternity.

Using a logical deductive approach, the text emphasizes that the continued existence of a single spirit points to a universal principle applicable to all humanity, and that the connection between us and the spiritual realms is not severed.

It is also stated that the Creator’s infinite mercy would not abandon the human spirit—the being most in need of the blessing of existence—to non-existence.

As part of the Risale-i Nur Collection, this work presents death not as an end, but as a doorway through which the spirit passes on its way back to its original homeland.

Gemini Notebook

THE TWENTY-NINTH WORD

The Immortality of Man’s Spirit

The Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead

SECOND AIM

FIRST FUNDAMENTAL POINT

SECOND SOURCE

There is another way to understand this.

It is objective.

It is based on observation.

On experience.

And on events repeated throughout human history.

Consider this.

If even one spirit continues to exist after death…

then the existence of spirits as a whole cannot simply be dismissed.

Why?

Because when a quality belongs to something by its very nature…

that quality is not limited to one individual.

It belongs to the whole category.

If immortality belongs to one human spirit…

then the possibility of immortality belongs to human spirits themselves.

And there is something more.

The evidence is not based on a single observation.

It is not based on one story.

Or one unusual event.

There are countless indications.

Countless experiences.

Countless signs pointing toward the continued existence of the spirit.

So many…

that denying them entirely becomes difficult to justify.

Think of the New World.

America.

We may never have seen it with our own eyes.

Yet we do not doubt that it exists.

And we do not doubt that human beings live there.

Why?

Because the evidence is overwhelming.

In much the same way…

there is reason to believe that the spirits of those who have died…

continue to exist.

They belong to another dimension of existence.

A world beyond what our eyes can see.

A spiritual realm.

And perhaps…

there is still a relationship between that world and ours.

Our immaterial gifts may reach them.

And their luminous influences may reach us.

There is another sign.

One that does not come from the outside.

It comes from within.

Deep within the human conscience…

there is an intuitive certainty.

Something essential in a human being continues after death.

That essential reality…

is the spirit.

The body changes.

The body grows old.

The body eventually returns to the earth.

But the spirit is different.

It is not something that can simply be broken apart.

Or dissolved.

Or decomposed.

Why?

Because the spirit is simple.

It is not a compound structure.

It possesses unity.

And destruction through decomposition belongs to things made of parts.

Things that can be separated.

Things that can be broken down.

But the spirit is not like that.

Life itself gives us a glimpse of this mystery.

Within the countless changes of the body…

there remains a unity.

A continuity.

A sense of permanence.

The body changes.

Yet the person remains.

The years pass.

Yet something remains constant.

That something belongs to the spirit.

Unity belongs to the spirit.

And permanence flows from that unity.

So how could the spirit become mortal?

There would seem to be only two possibilities.

Either the spirit could be destroyed.

Or it could simply cease to exist.

But destruction and dissolution have no proper place in something that possesses such unity and simplicity.

The spirit cannot be decomposed like a physical substance.

And annihilation presents another problem.

For the Creator is described as the Absolutely Generous One.

His mercy is limitless.

His generosity is without end.

Would such boundless generosity…

give the human spirit the gift of existence…

only to take that gift away completely?

The human spirit longs for existence.

It desires permanence.

It reaches toward eternity.

And it possesses a nature suited to that desire.

So the question remains.

Why would the One who gave existence…

take it back through absolute annihilation?

Perhaps the deeper lesson is this.

The human spirit is not merely a temporary visitor in existence.

It carries within itself…

a longing for permanence.

A longing that points beyond the limits of the body.

And beyond the limits of this world.

The body has a beginning.

The body has an end.

But the spirit…

may belong to a different order of existence.

An order where death is not the final word.

And where existence…

does not simply disappear.

It continues.

ChatGPT

Original text 

THE TWENTY-NINTH WORD


The Immortality of Man’s Spirit
The Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead
…
SECOND AIM
…
FIRST FUNDAMENTAL POINT
…


SECOND SOURCE:

This is objective. That is to say, it is a sort of empirical judgement which has been formed through repeated observations and numerous occurrences of events. Indeed, when it is understood that a single spirit continues to exist after death, this necessitates the continued existence of all spirits as a category of being. For according to the science of logic it is certain that if an intrinsic quality is observed in a single individual, the existence of that quality may be assumed in all individuals. Because it is intrinsic. If it is intrinsic, it will be present in each individual. Whereas the indications based on not one observation but on observations beyond calculation and count and the signs pointing to the immortality of spirits, are so definite that we can in no way doubt their existence. Just as for us there is a place called the New World, that is, America, and we cannot doubt that human beings are found there. In the same way, it is unacceptable to doubt that the spirits of the dead are now present in great numbers in the World of the Inner Dimension of Things and in the Spirit World, and that they have relations with us. Our immaterial gifts go to them and their luminous emanations come to us.
Moreover, one may perceive intuitively and certainly with one’s conscience that a fundamental aspect of man continues after his death. And that fundamental aspect is spirit. As for spirit, it is not subject to destruction and dissolution. This is because it is simple and uncompounded, it has unity. As for destruction, dissolution, and decomposition, they are the function of complex and compound substances. As we explained above, life ensures a form of unity within multiplicity; it causes a sort of permanence. That is to say, unity and permanence are fundamental to spirit, from which they spread to multiplicity.
The mortality of man’s spirit would occur either through destruction and dissolution, whereas unity provides no opportunity for these, and its simple nature disallows decomposition; or it would be through annihilation. But the limitless compassion of the Absolutely Generous One would not permit annihilation, and His boundless munificence would not allow that He should take back from the human spirit the bounty of existence which He has bestowed on it, which it ardently desires and of which it is worthy.

SOURCES


Risale-i Nur Okuma Programı 2.1.0, Words[2021] – 550, 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)

https://www.erisale.com/en/words/the-twenty-ninth-word-second-aim#4218

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“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?

“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
“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
“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.

NotebookLM & Claude

PowerPoint

The_Geometry_of_Paradiseİndir
The_Geometry_of_Paradiseİndir

The Twenty-Eighth Word

This Word is about Paradise and consists of two Stations.

…

The brief answers to a number of questions about eternal Paradise.

…

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)

https://erisale.com/index.jsp?locale=en#content.en.201.517

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The Eternal Architecture of Paradise: Bodily Resurrection and Eternal Life in Islam

Paradise (Jannah), Bodily Resurrection, and Life After Death

“If you tell a tree to bring you such-and-such a fruit, it will bring it. And if you tell such-and-such a stone to come, it will come.”

Explore the Islamic understanding of Paradise (Jannah), Bodily Resurrection, and Life After Death through Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s The Twenty-Eighth Word, a profound reflection on the nature of the Hereafter and eternal existence.

Paradise (Jannah), Bodily Resurrection, and Life After Death
Paradise (Jannah), Bodily Resurrection, and Life After Death

The Eternal Architecture of Paradise

This text is an excerpt from The Twenty-Eighth Word, a work by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi that explores the reality of Paradise.

The author explains, with profound philosophical insight, why bodily resurrection is necessary in the eternal realm and how physical pleasures are integrated with spiritual delights.

In contrast to the imperfect nature of worldly bodies, it is emphasized that material existence in the Hereafter will manifest in a stable, balanced, and exalted form.

The text further states that bodily senses serve as instruments for perceiving and measuring the manifestations of the Divine Names, and that these faculties will be rewarded in accordance with the duties they fulfilled.

Ultimately, drawing upon the verses of the Qur’an, it argues that phenomena such as eating, drinking, and marriage will attain a far superior and more vital nature in Paradise.

NotebookLM & CahtGPT

PowerPoint

The_Architecture_of_Eternityİndir
The_Architecture_of_Eternityİndir

The Twenty-Eighth Word

This Word is about Paradise and consists of two Stations. The First indicates some of the subtle wonders of Paradise. However, it does not prove the existence of Paradise, since this has been proved in brilliant fashion by the twelve decisive Truths of the Tenth Word and by the firm and clear consecutive arguments in Arabic which form the basis and summary of the Tenth Word and the Second Station of this Word. This Station discusses in question and answer form a number of the aspects of Paradise which have been the cause of criticism. If Divine assistance is forthcoming, a great Word will later be written about that mighty truth. God willing.

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

And give glad tidings to those who believe and act righteously that theirs shall be gardens beneath which flow rivers. Everytime they are fed with fruits therefrom, they will say: “Why, this is what we were fed with before.” For they will be given things in similitude. And they shall have therein spouses pure, and shall abide there for ever. – Qur’an, 2:25.

The brief answers to a number of questions about eternal Paradise.

The descriptions of the Qur’an’s verses about Paradise, which are more beautiful than Paradise, more lovely than the houris, and sweeter than the water of Salsabil, leave nothing to be said about it so that anyone should say it. However, in order to bring closer to the understanding those shining, pre-eternal, post-eternal, elevated and exquisite verses, we shall mention a number of steps, and, as samples of that Qur’anic Paradise, a number of fine points which are like samples of its flowers. We shall point to these through five allusive questions and answers. Indeed, Paradise is the means both to all spiritual and non-physical pleasures, and to all physical pleasures.

QUESTION: What connection with eternity and Paradise has faulty, deficient, changing, unstable, and suffering corporeality? Since the spirit has elevated pleasures, that is sufficient. Why is bodily resurrection necessary for bodily pleasures?

THE ANSWER: Because, just as in relation to water, air, and light, earth is dense and dark, but since it is the source and means of all the varieties of Divine artefacts, in meaning it rises above the other elements; and just as in regard to the mystery of its comprehensiveness and on condition it is purified, the human soul, which is also dense, rises above all the other human subtle faculties; so too corporeality is the richest and most comprehensive and all-embracing mirror to the manifestation of the Divine Names. All the tools and instruments for measuring the contents of the treasuries of mercy and reckoning their balances lie in corporeality. For example, if scales to the number of sorts of food and their pleasures did not originate in the sense of taste in the tongue, it could not taste and weigh them all up, and recognize and experience them. Also, the instruments for experiencing and knowing the manifestations of most of the Divine Names, and tasting and recognizing them, again lie in corporeality. And the faculties for experiencing all the infinitely various pleasures are also in corporeality.

As is proved in the Eleventh Word, it is understood clearly from the disposition of the universe and man’s comprehensiveness that the universe’s Maker wants to make known all the treasuries of His mercy, and all the manifestations of His Names, and to make experienced all the varieties of His bounties. The abode of bliss, therefore, which is a vast pool formed from the flood of the universe and a great exhibition of the textiles woven on the loom of the universe and an everlasting store of the crops produced in the arable field of this world, will resemble the universe to a degree. And it will preserve all its fundamental matters, both corporeal and spiritual. Its All-Wise Maker, the Most Compassionate One, will also give as recompense for the duties of the physical tools and instruments, pleasures worthy of them; and to His servants, as a wage and reward for the particular worship of each. Otherwise a situation would occur that was contrary to His wisdom, justice, and mercy, which is in no way fitting for the beauty of His mercy and perfection of His justice, and in no way compatible with them.

QUESTION: If a body is living, its parts are constantly being formed and dissolved; it is doomed to extinction and cannot be eternal. Eating and drinking are for the perpetuation of the individual, and sexual relations are for the perpetuation of the species. These are fundamental to this world, but there is no need for them in the world of eternity and hereafter. So why are they among the greatest pleasures of Paradise?

THE ANSWER: Firstly, the bodies of living creatures are doomed to annihilation and death in this world because of an imbalance between what is taken in and what is expended. From childhood until maturity much is taken in, and after that what is expended increases; the balance is spoilt, and the body dies. In the world of eternity, however, the particles of the body remain constant and are not subject to composition and dissolution, or else the balance remains constant. 1 –

(1 – In this world, the bodies of humans and animals are like guesthouses, barracks, and schools for particles. The lifeless particles enter them and acquire worthiness to be particles for the everlasting realm, which is living, then they leave them. In the hereafter, however, according to the verse, “The Abode of the Hereafter, that is life indeed,” the light of life is general. There is no necessity for that travelling, drill, and instruction in order to be illuminated. Particles will remain constant as permanent fixtures.)

Like a closed circle or perpetual motion, the body of the living creature becomes eternal together with the functioning of the machine of bodily life for pleasure. Although in this world eating and drinking and sexual relations arise from need and perform a function, various delights and pleasures have been placed within them as an immediate wage for the duty performed, and these are superior to other pleasures. Since in this abode of sorrows eating and sexual relations are the means to so many wonderful and various pleasures, certainly in Paradise, which is the abode of pleasure and bliss, those pleasures will take on a sublime form. The recompense of the duties pertaining to the hereafter performed here will also be added to them as pleasure, and they will be augmented by worldly needs which have taken the form of agreeable, otherworldly appetites, so will become an all-embracing, living source of pleasure worthy of Paradise and suitable to eternity. Indeed, according to the meaning of the verse,

And what is the life of this world but amusement and play? But indeed the Abode of the hereafter, that is life indeed, – Qur’an, 29:64.

substances, matters, which are inanimate and without consciousness and life in the abode of this world, there will be living and conscious. Like human beings and animals here, the trees and stones there will understand commands and carry them out. If you tell a tree to bring you such-and-such a fruit, it will bring it. And if you tell such-and-such a stone to come, it will come. Since stones and trees will take on this elevated form, it surely necessitates that, together with preserving their bodily realities, eating, drinking, and sexual relations also will take on a form higher than their worldly form, higher to the degree that Paradise is higher than this world.

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 Twenty-Eighth Word – https://erisale.com/index.jsp?locale=en#content.en.201.513

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Man is such an antique work of art of Almighty God – The Twenty-Third Word by Said Nursi

The Transformative Power of Faith: Human Value and Belief in The Twenty-Third Word by Said Nursi
Man is such an antique work of art of Almighty God – The Twenty-Third Word by Said Nursi

The Transformative Power of Faith: Human Value and Belief in The Twenty-Third Word by Said Nursi

This text explores the profound impact of faith on the human soul and value, explaining how belief elevates and ennobles the individual. According to the author, faith serves as a spiritual link connecting human beings to their Creator, enabling them to recognize the Divine artistry manifested within them. Through faith, a person ceases to be merely a temporary material existence and attains an eternal worth, rising to a rank worthy of Paradise.

In contrast, disbelief severs this sacred connection, burying the precious qualities within the human being in darkness and reducing him to nothing more than a transient and insignificant piece of matter. The text illustrates this striking difference through the analogy of an antique work of art: when a masterpiece loses its connection to its artist, its value falls to that of mere scrap. Likewise, a human being’s true significance diminishes when detached from the Creator.

Ultimately, the text argues that a person’s genuine importance does not stem from physical existence alone, but from the ability to reflect and manifest the attributes of the Creator, serving as a mirror to the Divine.

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The Twenty-Third Word

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

Indeed, We have created man on the most excellent of patterns,     Then sent him down to the lowest of the low,     Except those who believe and do good deeds. – Qur’an, 95:4-6.

First Chapter

We shall explain in five ‘Points’ only five of the virtues of belief out of thousands.

FIRST POINT

Through the light of belief, man rises to the highest of the high and acquires a value worthy of Paradise. And through the darkness of unbelief, he descends to the lowest of the low and falls to a position fit for Hell. For belief connects man to the All-Glorious Maker; it is a relation. Thus, man acquires value by virtue of the Divine art and inscriptions of the dominical Names which become apparent in him through belief. Unbelief severs the relation, and due to that severance the dominical art is concealed. His value then is only in respect to the matter of his physical being. And since this matter has only a transitory, passing, temporary animal life, its value is virtually nothing. We shall explain this mystery by means of a comparison:

For example: among man’s arts, the value of the materials used and that of the art are entirely different. Sometimes they are equal, sometimes the material is more valuable, and sometimes it happens that five liras’ worth of art is to be found in material like iron worth five kurush. Sometimes, even, an antique work of art is worth a million while the material of which it is composed is not worth five kurush. If such a work of art is taken to the antiques market and ascribed to a brilliant and accomplished artist of former times, and announced mentioning the artist and that art, it may be sold for a million liras. Whereas if it is taken to the scrap-dealers, the only price received will be for the five kurush’s worth of iron.

Thus, man is such an antique work of art of Almighty God. He is a most subtle and graceful miracle of His power whom He created to manifest all his Names and their inscriptions, in the form of a miniature specimen of the universe. If the light of belief enters his being, all the meaningful inscriptions on him may be read. As one who believes, he reads them consciously, and through that relation, causes others to read them. That is to say, the dominical art in man becomes apparent through meanings like, “I am the creature and artefact of the All-Glorious Maker. I manifest His mercy and munificence.” That is, belief, which consists of being connected to the Maker, makes apparent all the works of art in man. Man’s value is in accordance with that dominical art and by virtue of being a mirror to the Eternally Besought One. In this respect insignificant man becomes God’s addressee and a guest of the Sustainer worthy of Paradise superior to all other creatures.

However, should unbelief, which consists of the severance of the relation, enter man’s being, then all those meaningful inscriptions of the Divine Names are plunged into darkness and become illegible. For if the Maker is forgotten, the spiritual aspects which look to Him will not be comprehended, they will be as though reversed. The majority of those meaningful sublime arts and elevated inscriptions will be hidden. The remainder, those that may be seen with the eye, will be attributed to lowly causes, nature, and chance, and will become utterly devoid of value. While they are all brilliant diamonds, they become dull pieces of glass. His importance looks only to his animal, physical being. And as we said, the aim and fruit of his physical being is only to pass a brief and partial life as the most impotent, needy, and grieving of animals. Then it decays and departs. See how unbelief destroys human nature, and transforms it from diamonds into coal.

SOURCES

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words – The Twenty-Third Word – First Chapter, 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 Words/The Twenty-Third Word – https://www.erisale.com/index.jsp?locale=en#content.en.201.319

ENGLISH