Bediuzzaman wrote that this most important piece of advice seemed inappropriate for his state of mind, and he was bewildered as whom to follow. In the Introduction to the Mesnevi-i Nuriye, he explained this in greater detail:

Since the Old Said proceeded more in the rational and philosophical sciences, he started to look for a way to the essence of reality like that of the Sufi's (ehl-i tarikat) and the mystics (ehl-i hakikat). But he was not content to proceed with the heart only like the Sufis, for his intellect and thought were to a degree wounded by philosophy; a cure was needed. Then, he wanted to follow some of the great mystics, who approached reality with both the heart and the mind. He looked, and each of them had different points of attraction. He was bewildered as to which of them to follow. [^339] None of the great figures, such as Imam Ghazali, Mawlani Jalal al-Din al- Rumi, or Imam Rabbani, answered all of his needs.

[^339]:Nursi, Mesnevi-i Nuriye, 7.

While in this state, "it was imparted to the Old Said's much wounded heart" that the one true master was the Holy Qur'an. It occurred to him "through Divine Mercy" that "the head of these various ways and the source of these streams and the sun of these planets is the All-Wise Qur'an; the true single qibla is to be found in it. In which case, it is also the most elevated guide and most holy master. So I clasped it with both hands and clung on to it. [^340]

[^340]:Nursi, Mektûbat, 331 (Eng. tr.: Letters, 419).

Thus, we can say that Bediuzzaman's enlightenment occurred in three stages. Firstly, he realized the deficiency of the "human philosophy" he had studied and how it had been an obstacle to his enlightenment and progress. Secondly, as he himself confessed, through the "bitter medicine" of Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani's Futuh al-Ghayb: "I understood my faults, perceived my wounds, and my pride was to a degree destroyed." [^341] Then to complete the process of his transformation into the New Said, he understood through the Maktubat of Imam Rabbani that he should take the Qur'an as his sole master. The instruction in Divine Unity he then received through the phrase "There is no god but God" was "a most brilliant light" scattering the darkness in which he had been plunged and allowing him to breathe easily. Bediuzzaman describes how the Devil and his evil-commanding soul would not brook this, and "relying on what they had learnt from philosophers and the people of misguidance, attacked his mind and his heart", but that the ensuing debate resulted in "the heart's victory." [^342]

[^341]:Nursi, Sikke-i Tasdik-i Gaybî, 117

[^342]:Nursi, Lem'alar, 229 (Eng. tr.: Flashes, 306).