Later Ustad taught us concerning the levels of life as described in the First Letter. [^4] And we afterwards wrote out this ders and duplicated it. [^5]

[^4]:See, Nursi, Mektûbat, 5-7 (Eng. tr.: Letters, 21-9).

[^5]:İsmail Perihanoğlu, in Son Şahitler, ii, 26-7.

On another occasion they climbed to the top of the citadel in Van, and as was Bediuzzaman's practice, he climbed to the very highest point and spread out his prayer-rug there. Looking down on the ruins of his medrese at the foot of the citadel, he spoke of the signs of the end of the world. Then shifting his gaze to Lake Van, he explained the story of Jonah and the whale. He made a comparison of Jonah's situation and that of modern man, and explained how his moral and spiritual state resembles that of Jonah in the belly of the whale. Bediuzzaman later incorporated this into the Risale-i Nur as the First Flash. [^6] , [^7]

[^6]:See, Nursi, Lem'alar, 5-7 (Eng. tr.: Flashes, 18-20).

[^7]:İsmail Perihanoğlu, in Son Şahitler, ii, 27.

Bediuzzaman's absorption in worship has also been commented on by many of those connected with him at this time. His sister-in-law, Rabia, notes that he never slept at night while staying with them; from his room came the continuous sound of prayer and supplication. [^8] İsmail Perihanoğlu notes how he preferred to perform his worship, an important element of which was contemplation [tefekkür], in high places and elevated spots. Besides describing him climbing to the highest point in the citadel of Van, mentioned above, he tells of another occasion when he found Bediuzzaman on the roof of the mosque plunged in thought. [^9] While Molla Hamid, who spent the most time with him on Mount Erek, states that he was never idle for a moment but always occupied, mostly in prayer and supplication. He spent hours on his knees, so that his toes became raw. When one of his students suggested he sat in a more comfortable position like themselves, he replied:

[^8]:Rabia Ünlükul, in Son Şahitler, i, 63.

[^9]:İsmail Perihanoğlu, in Son Şahitler, ii, 27.

We have to win eternal life in this brief life and fleeting world. Both sit comfortably and claim Paradise — that's not possible! I'm not so bold as to sit comfortably! [^10]

[^10]:Hamid Ekinci, in Son Şahitler, i, 209.

Bediuzzaman and his students transformed a ruined monastery on the mountain into a mosque, and in a thicket of trees by the source of the Zernabad, they built a small platform on the interwoven branches for Bediuzzaman, which he found conducive to study, prayer, and contemplation.