A Short Addendum to the Word on Paradise – On Hell – The Twenty-Eighth Word – Words

The Seeds of Eternity: Belief and the Necessity of Hell

This text and video examines the fundamental difference between faith and disbelief, explaining the spiritual consequences of disbelief through the necessity of Hell. According to the author, faith carries within it the seed of Paradise, while denial contains both the seed of Hell and the very reason for the creation of this place of punishment. Accusing the Creator, who possesses infinite glory and power, of weakness and rejecting His promises are described as the greatest insults against divine dignity.

The text illustrates this point by giving the example of an earthly ruler who would establish prisons for those who disregard his authority, emphasizing that disbelief must inevitably face punishment. In conclusion, the existence of Hell is presented as an unavoidable requirement of divine justice and infinite majesty.

This work argues that disbelief is not merely an idea or opinion, but rather an act of rebellion against the universal order.

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The Twenty-Eighth Word – Why Does Hell Exist?

Imagine a world with no justice.

A world where every act of cruelty goes unanswered.
Where every lie has the same value as the truth.
Where arrogance stands unchallenged.

Could such a world ever be called just?

This question lies at the heart of one of the most profound passages in The Twenty-Eighth Word by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi.

His focus is not fear.

It is justice.

It is the relationship between belief, unbelief, and the necessity of Hell.

The author begins with a striking comparison.

Earlier in the Risale-i Nur, he explains that faith carries within it the seed of a spiritual Paradise.

Unbelief carries the seed of a spiritual Hell.

These are not merely future destinations.

They begin as realities within the human heart.

Every belief shapes a person from within.

Every denial leaves its own mark.

Just as a tiny seed contains the blueprint of a great tree, belief contains the promise of eternal happiness.

Unbelief contains the beginning of separation, darkness, and loss.

The destination grows naturally from the seed.

Paradise is the fruit of faith.

Hell is the fruit of unbelief.

But the author goes one step further.

He argues that unbelief is not only the reason a person may enter Hell.

It is also one of the reasons Hell itself exists.

At first, this may seem like a surprising claim.

To explain it, he gives a simple example.

Imagine a ruler.

His authority is limited.

His power is small.

One day, someone openly insults him.

The person says with complete arrogance,

“You cannot punish me.”

“And even if you wanted to, you have no prison.”

Suppose there truly is no prison.

What happens next?

According to the author, the ruler would almost certainly build one.

Not because he enjoys punishment.

But because justice demands it.

His authority cannot simply be mocked without consequence.

Even an ordinary human ruler would defend the dignity of his office.

Now the comparison becomes much greater.

Human rulers possess only a tiny fraction of authority.

Their dignity is limited.

Their power is temporary.

But God possesses infinite majesty.

Infinite glory.

Infinite power.

Infinite wisdom.

When a person denies His existence…

Or rejects His justice…

Or claims, through disbelief, that there will never be accountability…

The author says this is far more than a simple intellectual disagreement.

It becomes a denial of infinite truth.

A rejection of divine justice.

A challenge against the One whose authority encompasses the entire universe.

In this perspective, unbelief is not merely the absence of faith.

It becomes an act of refusing the reality established by the Creator.

The passage describes this denial in powerful language.

It says that disbelief accuses the Creator of weakness.

It rejects His promises.

It dismisses His justice.

It refuses His authority.

Such denial is not insignificant.

It carries immense consequences.

This is why the author argues that Hell is not an unnecessary addition to creation.

It is part of the complete order of divine justice.

Without justice, the moral structure of the universe would remain unfinished.

The author even presents an extraordinary statement.

He says that even if there were, hypothetically, no other reason for Hell to exist, unbelief alone would make its existence necessary.

Not because punishment is the goal.

But because justice cannot remain incomplete.

A universe governed by perfect wisdom also requires perfect accountability.

This raises an important question.

Why does belief matter so deeply?

According to this understanding, belief is not only about accepting certain ideas.

It is about recognizing reality itself.

It is about acknowledging the One who created existence.

Every blessing.

Every law of nature.

Every moment of life.

Every breath.

Every star in the night sky.

All point toward their Creator.

To deny that reality is, in this view, to reject the deepest truth behind existence itself.

And every rejection carries consequences.

Not because God needs recognition.

But because human beings shape themselves through the choices they freely make.

Faith transforms the soul.

Unbelief transforms it as well.

Both grow from seeds planted during earthly life.

The harvest comes later.

This perspective also reminds us that divine justice is never separated from divine mercy.

Throughout the Qur’an, God’s mercy is described as vast beyond imagination.

Human beings are constantly invited to believe.

To reflect.

To repent.

To return.

Punishment is never presented as the first invitation.

Mercy comes first.

Guidance comes first.

Opportunity comes first.

Only persistent rejection of that guidance leads to accountability.

The passage therefore is not merely about Hell.

It is about the seriousness of human freedom.

Every person has the ability to choose.

To believe.

Or to deny.

To seek truth.

Or to turn away from it.

Those choices are never meaningless.

They shape both the present life and the eternal one.

The author concludes by reminding the reader of a verse from the Qur’an.

“Our Sustainer, You did not create this without purpose.

Glory be to You.

Protect us from the punishment of the Fire.”

This prayer captures the central message of the passage.

Creation has meaning.

Justice has meaning.

Human choice has meaning.

Nothing in existence is without purpose.

According to The Twenty-Eighth Word, Hell is not simply a place of punishment.

It is part of a universe built upon perfect justice.

A justice in which every choice matters.

Every action has meaning.

And every human soul is invited to seek the truth before its final destination is revealed.

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Original text

The Twenty-Eighth Word – Words

A Short Addendum to the Word on Paradise

On Hell

As is proved in the Second and Eighth Words, belief bears the seed of a sort of Paradise, while unbelief conceals the seed of a sort of Hell. And just as unbelief is a seed of Hell, so Hell is one of its fruits. And just as unbelief is the reason for being sent to Hell, so it is the cause of Hell’s existence and creation. For if an insignificant ruler of small dignity, small pride, and small majesty is told impudently by some unmannerly person: “You may not punish me and you cannot,” if there is no prison in that place, the ruler will certainly have one built for him and will throw him into it. However, by denying Hell, the unbeliever is giving the lie to One of infinite dignity, pride, and glory, Who is sublimely and infinitely powerful, and is accusing Him of impotence, lying, and powerlessness; he is insulting terribly His dignity and offending His pride. He is rebelliously causing affront to His glory. If, to suppose the impossible, there were no reason for Hell’s existence, it would certainly be created for unbelief, which comprises denial and ascribing impotence to this degree, and such an unbeliever would certainly be cast into it.

Our Sustainer! You did not create that in vain. Glory be unto You! Save us from the penalty of the Fire! (3:191)

SOURCES

Risale-i Nur Okuma Programı 2.1.0, Words[2021] – 534, email: syesilova72@gmail.com

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words – The Twenty-Eighth Word – This Word is about Paradise, The English translations of the Risale-i Nur Collection, translated by Şükran Vahide and published by Sözler Neşriyat, are an exact printed version of the original text. (erisale.com)

https://www.erisale.com/index.jsp?locale=en#content.en.201.520

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13 July 202613 July 2026

“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.

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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

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

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21 June 202626 June 2026

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

“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.

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.

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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

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

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17 June 202617 June 2026

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

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