#### The Risale-i Nur

The Risale-i Nur

Within a month or two of arriving in Barla, Bediuzzaman wrote a treatise proving the resurrection of the dead and existence of the hereafter; it was the first part of the Risale-i Nur to be written. This was followed by a succession of others, one of the most significant being The Miraculousness of the Qur'an, which proves the very points by which its enemies had attempted to discredit the Qur'an to be the sources of its "eloquence" and "miraculousness". By 1929 the first collection of the treatises, thirty-two in number, was completed, the thirty-third was added later, and Bediuzzaman gave it the name of Sözler, The Words. Thus began Bediuzzaman's silent struggle against the forces of irreligion.

The way the Risale-i Nur was composed was unique, just as its form and manner of exposition are unique. It was inspired directly by the Qur' an at this time when foremost in Turkey the Qur'an faced severe threats, and the greater part of the Islamic world too was under foreign domination and suffering dissension of all kinds. Bediuzzaman wrote:

Unlike other works, the Risale-i Nur was not taken from the sciences and branches of learning or from other books; it has no source other than the Qur'an; it has no master other than the Qur'an; it has no authority other than the Qur' an. Its author had no other book with him when it was written. It was directly inspired by the effulgence of the Qur'an, and descended and was revealed from the skies of the Qur'an and the stars of its verses. [^43]

[^43]:Nursi, Şualar, 598.

The Risale-i Nur is a commentary (tafsir) on the Qur'an that expounds it not according to the order of the verses and the immediate causes for its revelation, but explains those verses which concern the truths of belief. For commentaries on the Qur'an are of various sorts. As the Pre-Eternal Word of God, the Qur'an addresses all people of every age; it has a face that looks to each century and age, and speaks according to the conditions and needs peculiar to each. The Risale-i Nur expounds that face which looks to the modern age, and by virtue of its source possesses certain characteristics which uniquely qualify it to address contemporary man and his needs.

Firstly, it is almost entirely concerned with expounding the truths of belief, as opposed to verses concerning social and legal matters; it explains and proves the pillars of faith, like the existence and unity of God, the resurrection of the dead, the hereafter, and prophethood, together with such questions as the true nature of man and the universe. For while in the past these were secure, now these very bases of faith were under attack. The