Tag: Meaning of Life

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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

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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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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.

NotbookLM & ChatGPT

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

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