For the next two years Bediuzzaman stayed on the mountain, inhabiting a cave near the source of the river Zernabad and returning to Van only for the coldest months of the winter. It was also his practice to go down to the town on Fridays, to give the sermon in Nurşin Mosque. From what has been recorded of these sermons and what he taught his students, they too were entirely in accordance with the way of the New Said. That is to say, Bediuzzaman concentrated on explaining and teaching the fundamentals of belief, the basic tenets of faith, such subjects as Divine Unity and the resurrection of the dead and the hereafter. He told one of his students on this being questioned, for his treatment of these subjects was new and different in addition to his congregations being unaccustomed to hearing these basic matters:

"My aim is to construct firmly the foundations of belief. If the foundations are sound, they cannot be destroyed by any upheavals." [^2]

[^2]:Hamid Ekinci, in Son Şahitler, i, 200.

The same student, Molla Hamid, has also quoted Bediuzzaman as saying in connection with this:

"Honoured sirs, the Old Said is dead; you still think of me as the Old Said. This is the New Said you see before you. Almighty God has granted limitless blessings to the New Said... Ten months of the New Said's teaching may be the equivalent of what the Old Said taught in ten years, and sufficient." [^3]

[^3]:Ibid., 198-9.

The New Said was to find total manifestation in the Risale-i Nur and the three years till the spring of 1926 when he was inspired to write the first parts may be seen as a time of preparation and waiting for Divine guidance, but it may also be noted that just as, as was described in a previous chapter, the first writings of the New Said, the Mesnevi-i Nuriye, were "seedbed" of the Risale-i Nur, so too at this time in Van, some of the ders Bediuzzaman gave or subjects he taught were later included in the Risale-i Nur. Another student, İsmail Perihanoğlu, has recorded two instances of this, which we include here:

Another day, Molla Resul, Kopanışlı Molla Yusuf and I went together with Ustad to Zeve, the people of which had been entirely wiped out in the Armenian massacres. Ustad paused, and said:

"This is the resting-place of martyrs. My brother Molla Ahmad-i Canolies here also." And unable to hold back his tears, he wept with great sorrow.

Molla Ahmad-i Cano had studied with Ustad.