Tag: Life After Death

Posted on

Does the Order of the Universe Point to Eternal Happiness?

Does the order of the universe point to eternal happiness?

Look around you. The universe is filled with order, harmony, and remarkable patterns.

From the vastness of galaxies to the smallest details of nature, everything invites us to reflect on a deeper question:

What is the ultimate purpose of this magnificent order?

In this documentary, we explore the Second Aim, Second Fundamental Point of The Twenty-Ninth Word by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, from the Risale-i Nur Collection.

This section presents a thought-provoking argument: if human existence ended with this temporary worldly life, what would become of the deeper meaning and ultimate fulfillment of the order we observe throughout creation?

Through reflections on nature, the cosmos, wisdom, and the meaning of existence, we explore why the order of the universe points, in this argument, toward eternal happiness.

This is an invitation to think beyond the visible world and consider the deeper questions of life, faith, and eternity.

IN THIS VIDEO

  • The remarkable order of the universe
  • Signs of purpose and wisdom in nature
  • The meaning of existence beyond this temporary life
  • The relationship between cosmic order and eternal happiness
  • Reflections on faith, reason, and the hereafter

SOURCE

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words — The Twenty-Ninth Word: About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead.

English translation by Şükran Vahide, published by Sözler Neşriyat.

Original text:
https://www.erisale.com/tr/sozler/yirmidokuzuncu-soz-ikinci-maksad#4230

JOIN THE JOURNEY

If you enjoy thoughtful documentaries exploring faith, philosophy, the universe, and the meaning of life, consider subscribing to DERS DÜNYASI English.

Like the video, share your thoughts in the comments, and share it with someone who enjoys exploring life’s deeper questions.

Thank you for watching.

THE TWENTY-NINTH WORD

SECOND AIM

SECOND FUNDAMENTAL POINT

The First Argument: The Order of the Universe

Look closely at the universe.

Observe the world around you.

Everywhere, there is order.

A perfect order.

A deliberate harmony.

Nothing appears without purpose.

In every direction, signs of choice can be seen.

Traces of intention are everywhere.

In every object, there is a light of purpose.

In every event, a reflection of will.

In every movement, a glimpse of choice.

And in every combination of things, a spark of wisdom.

Look at their results.

Look at the countless fruits they produce.

They all point toward the same truth.

This universe is not merely a collection of random events.

Its order speaks of meaning.

Its harmony reveals purpose.

Its relationships connect everything into a greater whole.

But consider this.

What if there were no eternal happiness?

What if human existence ended in complete disappearance?

Then what would become of this profound order?

Would it not be reduced to something fragile?

Something temporary.

Something without a lasting foundation.

An order that appears meaningful, yet leads nowhere.

The deeper connections between things would lose their ultimate significance.

Their spiritual meanings would fade away.

Their relationships would become like dust scattered into the wind.

And the wisdom reflected throughout creation would remain without its final fulfillment.

But true order cannot be separated from meaning.

And meaning points beyond the limits of this brief worldly life.

This is the heart of the argument.

Eternal happiness is what gives the order of the universe its ultimate meaning.

Without it, the greater purpose of this magnificent order would remain unfulfilled.

Therefore, the order of the universe is not silent.

It speaks.

It points beyond itself.

It directs our attention toward eternal happiness.

And invites us to look beyond this temporary world.

To a reality where wisdom reaches its fulfillment.

Where justice finds its completion.

And where the deepest purposes of existence are finally revealed.

The universe, in all its magnificent order, points toward eternal happiness.

SOURCES

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words — The Twenty-Ninth Word: About the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead.

English translation by Şükran Vahide, published by Sözler Neşriyat.

Original text: Risale-i Nur Okuma Programı 2.1.0, Words [2021], p. 552.

Reference: https://www.erisale.com/tr/sozler/yirmidokuzuncu-soz-ikinci-maksad#4230

ChatGPT

THE TWENTY-NINTH WORD
…

SECOND AIM
…

SECOND FUNDAMENTAL POINT
…

First Point:

If observed carefully, it will be seen that a perfect and intentional order embraces the whole universe. Traces of choice and flashes of purpose are to be seen in every aspect of it. What strikes the eyes through the testimony of their fruits is that in every thing is a light of intention; in every function, a flash of will; in every motion, a gleam of choice; in every composite whole, a blaze of wisdom. Thus, if there were no eternal happiness, this authentic order would merely consist of a weak and futile form. It would be a false order, not a true order. Connections and relations and immaterial things, which are the spirit of order, would be lost and come to nothing. That is to say, what gives order to order is eternal happiness. In which case, the order of the universe points to eternal happiness.

SOURCES
Risale-i Nur Okuma Programı 2.1.0, Words[2021] – 552, 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#4236

HOME – English

Posted on

Is Eternal Happiness Possible? | The 29th Word – Said Nursi

This text and video examine the Second Fundamental Point of the Second Aim of The Twenty-Ninth Word, a work from the Risale-i Nur Collection by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi.

This section explains several fundamental subjects through rational arguments. These include the necessity of eternal happiness, Allah’s power to bestow this happiness, and the eventual destruction and reconstruction of the world.

In addition to the powerful arguments presented in The Tenth Word, which aim to satisfy the heart, the author adopts a concise style in this treatise. His particular aim is to convince the intellect and silence its objections through clear and rational reasoning.

The work also explores the logical foundations of such subjects as the immortality of the spirit, the existence of angels, and the resurrection of the dead in the Hereafter.

According to the bibliographic information, the text has been compiled from the 2012 edition of The Words and digital reading programs.

Source: Gemini Notebook

THE TWENTY-NINTH WORD

SECOND AIM

SECOND FUNDAMENTAL POINT

The Necessity of Eternal Happiness

There are questions that reach beyond this life.

Questions about eternity.

About the destiny of the human soul.

And about what lies beyond the end of this world.

Is eternal happiness possible?

Can the universe come to an end?

And if this world comes to an end, can it be brought back to life?

According to Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, these are not merely questions of faith.

They are questions that reason itself can examine.

In the Twenty-Ninth Word, Nursi addresses these profound realities.

He explains that eternal happiness is not beyond the power of the Creator.

The One who brought existence into being is capable of granting it everlasting life.

The destruction of the universe is also possible.

And, according to this teaching, it will one day take place.

But the story does not end with destruction.

The resurrection of the world is possible, too.

And so is the Last Judgement.

These are matters of immense importance.

Yet Nursi approaches them with a clear purpose.

To explain them briefly.

To examine them rationally.

And to present arguments that speak directly to the human intellect.

In the Tenth Word, he presents arguments that seek to strengthen the heart and elevate faith toward certainty.

Here, however, the approach is different.

He draws upon the method of the Old Said.

This was the name he used for his earlier intellectual period.

In his treatise known as Nokta, or The Point, he employed a concise and rational style.

His aim was to confront the intellect with arguments that could not easily be dismissed.

Now, in this section, he follows a similar path.

He begins with a fundamental question.

What makes eternal happiness necessary?

What in existence points toward a destiny beyond death?

And what evidence suggests that human life is not destined to end in nothingness?

Nursi proposes that the answer can be approached through a series of interconnected considerations.

He describes them as ten sources.

Ten starting points for reflection.

Each one invites us to examine existence from a different perspective.

Together, they form the foundation of his argument.

The journey begins here.

With reason.

With reflection.

And with one of humanity’s oldest questions.

Does our existence end with this world?

Or is this world only the beginning of a greater reality?

To explore Nursi’s answer, we must now turn to the ten sources that form the basis of his argument.

And examine, step by step, the case for eternal happiness.

ChatGPT

THE TWENTY-NINTH WORD
…

SECOND AIM
…

SECOND FUNDAMENTAL POINT
   There are matters necessitating eternal happiness, and the All-Glorious Agent is capable of bestowing such happiness. Also, the destruction of the universe and death of the world are possible, and they will occur. And the resurrection of the world and the Last Judgement are possible, and they will occur. We shall explain all these six matters briefly and in such a way as to satisfy the reason. In fact, in the Tenth Word, arguments are presented which raise the heart to the level of perfect belief, while here, we shall discuss them in the manner of the Old Said’s explanations in his treatise called Nokta (The Point), which convince and silence the reason only.
   There are matters which necessitate eternal happiness. A decisive argument pointing to those matters consists of a supposition filtered through ten sources and central points.

SOURCES
Risale-i Nur Okuma Programı 2.1.0, Words[2021] – 552, 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#4233

HOME – English

Posted on

And if the Creator wills its permanence,nothing can make it perish. – 29th Word – Said Nursi

This video and text are based on a fundamental passage from Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s The Twenty-Ninth Word, specifically the section Second Aim / First Fundamental Point / Third Source, which presents a foundational argument for the nature and immortality of the human spirit (baqā’ al-rūḥ).

The main ideas and conceptual framework can be summarized as follows:

The Definition of the Spirit (Kānūn-u Amrī):
The spirit is described as a living, conscious, luminous “law of command” (kānūn-u amrī) that has been clothed with external existence (wujūd-u khārijī), and which possesses a comprehensive nature with the capacity to attain universality. While physical laws of nature, such as gravity, are based on abstract principles, the spirit is presented as a living and conscious embodiment of these divine laws.

A Constant Reality Amid Change:
Although matter and living species undergo continuous change and transformation, there remains a constant reality at the essence of each species. Individuals are born and die, yet the law governing that species continues to exist.

The Human Being as a Species in Itself:
Through the breadth of his nature, universal consciousness, and capacity for comprehensive conception, the individual human being, despite being only one person, has in a sense attained the rank of an entire species (nev’ in itself). Therefore, the law of continuity and permanence that applies to an entire species also applies directly to the human spirit.

Baqā’ al-Rūḥ — The Immortality of the Spirit:
Even if the human spirit were to undergo hundreds of thousands of changes in state and form, or even if the body were to die, the spirit continues to exist through God’s command, permission, and preservation (ibqā’). It continues onward toward eternity, just as it came into this world.

Source: Gemini Notebook


THE TWENTY-NINTH WORD

SECOND AIM

FIRST FUNDAMENTAL POINT

THIRD SOURCE

There is another way to understand the immortality of the human spirit.

Look closely at life.

Everything changes.

Forms appear.

They develop.

They transform.

And eventually, they disappear.

Yet something remains.

Something constant.

Something that does not perish with the changing form.

This is true throughout the living world.

Behind the changing forms of life,
there are laws that remain.

They continue to operate.

They remain stable.

They do not disappear with every transformation.

Even the weakest law of nature shows a certain permanence.

And this gives us a significant clue.

The human being is not merely an individual.

In a remarkable sense,
he is like a whole species within himself.

Why?

Because human nature is comprehensive.

Human consciousness is universal.

And the human imagination can embrace countless things.

A person can think about the past.

He can imagine the future.

He can understand distant worlds.

He can reflect upon existence itself.

His inner world is vast.

For this reason,
the laws that operate within a species
can also be seen within the individual human being.

Now consider the human spirit.

The spirit is the conscious element of the human being.

It is the living essence within him.

The body changes.

It grows.

It weakens.

It renews itself.

And throughout a lifetime,
its physical form can change again and again.

Yet we still say:

“I am the same person.”

Something remains.

Something preserves our identity.

Something continues through all these changes.

That something is the spirit.

The Creator has given the human being
a comprehensive nature.

He has made humanity a mirror
capable of reflecting the signs of the universe.

He has given the human being
a capacity for universal worship.

And He has given the spirit
a nature suited to permanence.

So even if the outer form of a person changes
hundreds of thousands of times,
the spirit does not necessarily perish with it.

With the permission of its Sustainer,
it continues.

It remains.

And when its time in this world is complete,
it departs.

Just as it came.

Therefore, the human spirit
is not like the temporary form of the body.

The body changes.

The spirit remains.

The body belongs to the world of transformation.

The spirit belongs to a deeper reality.

And if the Creator wills its permanence,
nothing can make it perish.

The human spirit is conscious.

It is alive.

It is the essential living element of the human being.

And by God’s command,
and through His permission,
it is immortal.

This is the third source.

A reflection drawn from the permanence
found behind the changing forms of life.

And it points to a profound truth:

The body changes.

The spirit continues.

And the human being does not end
with the disappearance of his outward form.

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
…

THIRD SOURCE:

The human spirit, which has been clothed in a living, conscious, luminous external existence, is a comprehensive and veracious commanding law disposed to acquiring universality. Even the weakest commanding laws manifest stability and permanence. For if considered carefully, it will be seen that present in all species which are subject to change, is a constant truth that, revolving within the changes, transformations, and stages of life, causes the outer forms of things to change, and yet living and not dying, is permanent.
Thus, while the human being is an individual, he resembles a species owing to the comprehensiveness of his nature, his universal consciousness, and all-embracing imagination. A law that governs and is in force in the species is also in force in the human individual. Since the All-Glorious Creator has created man as a comprehensive mirror, for universal worship, and with an exalted nature, even if the spirit-truth which is present in each individual causes the individual’s outer form to change hundreds of thousands of times, with the Sustainer’s permission it will not die but will continue, departing as it came. In which case, at God’s command and with His permission and through His making it permanent, the human individual’s spirit, which is the conscious element and living part of him, is immortal.

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/en/words/the-twenty-ninth-word-second-aim#4224

HOME – English
Posted on

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

HOME – English

Posted on

“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.

ChatGPT

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

HOME – English
Posted on

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

HOME – English