that he could not work alongside the new leaders, and withdrew to Van, from where as a result of the baseless suspicions of the politicians, he was sent into exile. So too at the extraordinarily early age of fourteen Bediuzzaman received his diploma and started to teach, When it comes to the differences, the most important are that while Mawlana Khalid's person was the 'pole' and guide, Bediuzzaman "dismissed his own person, and showed only the Risale-i Nur", and while together with attaching great importance to and strengthening the Prophet's Sunna, Mawlana Khalid's way was that of Sufism (ilm-i tarikat), Bediuzzaman, "due to the requirements of this fearsome age, favoured the science of reality (ilm-i hakikat) and the way of the truths of belief, and considered Sufism to be third in importance." [^175]

[^175]:Nursi, Sikke-i Tasdik-i Gaybî, 14-16.

#### More on the Risale-i Nur's Function and Bediuzzaman's Advice to his Students Concerning This

More on the Risale-i Nur's Function and

Bediuzzaman's Advice to his Students Concerning This

While explaining the Risale-i Nur's functions and duties in his letters to his students, Bediuzzaman frequently stresses that they are concerned with belief and the strengthening and saving of it, and advises them, in the particular conditions of that time, to concentrate all their attention on matters related to these and not to become involved in any degree with political, social, and worldly matters.

This included the Second World War, which although Turkey did not take part in it, was the cause of great dissension in the country. Various reasons for this emerge from the letters like the preservation of absolute sincerity and the harm to service to religion of political bias, and although not expressed, this attitude was demanded by the political conditions of the times and the despotic regime's persecution of those who worked openly for the cause of Islam. However, in mentioning some of these points, a further underlying reason emerges for Bediuzzaman's insistence on his students remaining aloof from politics and working solely for belief, and this was in connection with the Risale-i Nur's function as Renewer of Religion, which he saw in the long view of the future. It can be understood from his letters that during these years he was concerned with 'the end of time', and related the War and dreadful events of this century to those foretold to occur at that time. He placed the Risale-i Nur and its mission within this perspective. This becomes clear particularly from his replies to questions put to him concerning the Mehdi, who is to appear at that time. The following letter makes this clearer. It was written by a number of Bediuzzaman's students to a hoja who had written to him on the subject: