serving it. Abdurrahman wrote that he asked his uncle why he had been shaken to such a great extent, and Bediuzzaman replied:

I can bear my own sorrows, but the sorrows arising from Islam's grief have crushed me. I feel each blow delivered at the world of Islam to be delivered first at my own heart. That is why I have been so shaken. But I see a light; it will cause those sorrows to be forgotten, God willing. [^313]

[^313]:-

Among the extant documents of the Darü'l-Hikmet are two requests for leave of absence on grounds of ill-health. We include them here together with an identity paper dated 26 September 1921, and Bediuzzaman's answers to an official questionnaire dated 17 October 1921. They are all included in the unpaged appendix of Sadık Albayrak's book on the Darü'l- Hikmet.

To the Illustrious Şeyhü'l-İslam

A Petition:

The nervous debility with which I am afflicted as a result of both the searing difficulties I endured day and night for two years on the Caucasian Front in the present War in defence of religion and country, and the intolerable hardships I suffered in two and a half years of captivity, and the regretful conditions which we witness at the present time, has turned into neurasthenia.

As required in accordance with the attached report giving the results of the doctors' examination stating that five to six months' change of air is imperative, I request the permission of the Illustrious Şeyhü'l-İslam for leave for about six months' change of air.

And the command belongs...

19 Nisan 1335 (19 April 1919)

Bediuzzaman Said

Member of the Darü'l-Hikmet [^314]

[^314]:Also in, Şahiner, Said Nursi, 184-5;

Member Said Efendi's request, corroborated by a doctor's report, for five months' leave of absence for a change of air on account of his having neurasthenia has been accepted, Since there is no obstacle in his leaving his post for that period, his petition has been noted accordingly. 17 Receb 1337 / 19 Nisan 1335 (19 April 1919)"

To the Illustrious Şeyhü'l-İslam

Illustrious and Munificent Excellency,

Since, as the attached report makes clear, the illness from which I suffered earlier has returned and I am at present undergoing treatment by a specialist doctor in Sarıyer, I request that permission be granted for three