You may expect from Divine Mercy to see true civilization within universal peace brought about through the sun of the truth of Islam. [^224]

[^224]:Nursi, Hutbe-i Şamiye, 28-32 (Eng. tr.: Damascus Sermon, 36-9).

The remaining five 'Words' of the Sermon point out how this true civilization will be achieved and the morning and springtime for mankind brought about. They are concerned mainly with morality.

In the Second Word, Bediuzzaman points out some of the destructive results of despair, which he describes as "a most grievous sickness" which "has entered the heart of the world of Islam." He says that it was despair that had destroyed the morale of Muslims, so that the Europeans had been able to dominate them and make them their captives for the preceding four hundred years. And it was despair that had killed their high morality, and caused them to abandon the public good for personal benefit. And despair had even caused them to use "the indifference and despondence of others" as "an excuse for their own laziness," and "to abandon the courageousness of belief, and neglect their Islamic duties." He says that despair "is the quality and pretext of cowards, the base, and the impotent." It cannot be the quality of the Arabs in particular, who are famous for their tenacity. He concludes the Word with a call to the Arabs to give up despair and stand in "true solidarity and concord" with the Turks, and "unfurl the banner of the Qur'an in every part of the world." [^225]

[^225]:Ibid.„ 37-9 (Eng. tr.: Damascus Sermon, 43-5).

The Third Word is Truthfulness. This, says Bediuzzaman, is the basis and foundation of Islam. Truthfulness and honesty are the principles of Islam's social life. Hypocrisy, flattery and artifice, duplicity and double-dealing are all forms of lying. Unbelief in all its varieties is lying and falsehood, while belief is truthfulness and honesty. For this reason, there is a limitless distance between truth and falsehood. Like fire and light, they should not enter one another. But politics and propaganda have mixed and confused them, and as a result have confused man's achievements,

Bediuzzaman points out that this has happened in the course of time and that during the Era of Bliss, that is, the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), truthfulness and lying were as distant from one another as belief and unbelief. They have gradually drawn closer to each other, and now evil and lying have to some degree taken the stage. Salvation, he told them, is only to be found in honesty. Sometimes in the past lying may have been permissible, but since it was abused, now there are only two ways, not three: "Either truthfulness or silence." [^226]

[^226]:Ibid., 39-44 (Eng. tr.: Damascus Sermon, 45-9).