This impotent student of yours never studied Arabic nor saw the inside of a medrese. He used to read books in Turkish written long ago and could find no remedy to cure his material and spiritual wounds... [But] just as Almighty God creates a Paradise-like time in a Hell-like time, and creates solutions appropriate for every era and bestows remedies appropriate for every wound, so too in this time of ours which lacks medreses He is causing the treatises [of the Risale-i Nur] to be written by means of our Esteemed Master, in Turkish, for those wounded like us. ... Countless and innumerable thanks be to Almighty God, and may He give our Esteemed Master success in the service of the Qur'an and exalt him in this world and the next. Amen! Although I received no education in Arabic nor had ten to fifteen years' medrese education and have only written out the treatises of the Risale-i Nur and studied them seriously, I imagine myself to have studied in a medrese for twenty years. The reason is this: many Arabic hojas now come to this impotent, humble wretch and are in wonder at what he has studied. Those who have previously received training from perfect guides come and are captivated by the words they hear from me. Many hojas come in all humility and get me to read the Risale-i Nur. If my voice were sufficiently powerful I would shout with all my strength to the young people on the earth: "Writing and studying the Risale-i Nur seriously is superior to studying in a medrese for twenty years and more beneficial!" [^76]

[^76]:Nursi, Barla Lahikası, 100-6.

#### The Risale-i Nur Spreads

The Risale-i Nur Spreads

By degrees the Risale-i Nur was disseminated as the writing of it became more widespread. Particularly in the area of Isparta, there were eventually thousands of Students of the Risale-i Nur, men and women, young and old, who devoted themselves to writing out copies of it. Of these Students, there were some who did not emerge from their houses for seven or eight years. In the village of Sav even, which came to be known as the Nur School, the treatises of the Risale-i Nur were duplicated by literally a thousand pens. And this continued for a considerable number of years. A duplicating machine was first used continuously in İnebolu in 1946 of '47, [^77] while it was not till 1956 that it was possible to print the whole Risale-i Nur Collection in the new script. [^78] The number given for handwritten copies of the various parts of the Risale-i Nur is six hundred thousand.

[^77]:See Chapter 6 below.

[^78]:Şahiner, Said Nursi, 389-391.

Radiating out from Bediuzzaman himself through these Students of the