Our Master says: Yes, at this time both belief and religion, and social life and the Shari'a, and public law and Islamic politics, are all in need of a renewer of great stature. But the duty of renewal in regard to saving the truths of belief is the most important, the most sacred, and the greatest. The spheres of the Shari'a, social life, and politics take second, third, and fourth places in relation to it. Also, the greatest importance in Hadiths about the renewal of religion is in regard to renewal in the truths of belief. But since in the view of public opinion and those caught up in this life Islamic social life and the politics of religion, which are attractive in that they are apparently far-reaching and predominant, appear to be of greater importance, they look from that point of view, through that lens; they give it that meaning.

In addition, it does not appear to be possible for these three duties to be performed together perfectly by one person or community at this time, and for them not to damage one another. They can only be brought together at the end of time by the Mahdi and the collective personality of his community, which represents the luminous community of the Prophet's Family. Endless thanks be to Almighty God that in this century He has given the duty of renewal and the preservation of the truths of belief to the Risale-i Nur and to the collective personality of its students. [^176]

[^176]:Nursi, Kastamonu Lahikası, 139.

In stressing the paramount importance of belief and its strengthening Bediuzzaman writes in another letter that it is not possible to change all these matters together at this time, so that even if the Mehdi was to come now, he would concentrate on the question of belief:

At this time there are currents so overwhelming that they draw everything to their own account. So even if the true awaited person, who will come next century, were to come now, my conjecture is that he would forego the political world and change his goal and not let his movement be carried away on those currents.

Also, there are three matters: one is life, another is the Shari'a, and another is belief. In the view of reality, the most important and the greatest is the question of belief. But in the view of most people at this time, compelled by the world situation, the most important appear to be life and the Shari'a. And so, even if he were to come now, since to change these three matters altogether throughout the world is not in keeping with the Divine laws in force in humankind, he would surely take the greatest matter as the basis and not the others, so that the service of belief would not be tainted in the general view and so that he would not let that service appear to ordinary people, who are easily deceived, to be exploited for other ends. [^177]

[^177]:Ibid., 57-8.