He also competed in sports and physical feats, and demonstrated his superiority in these too. One day in Siirt, he challenged a friend, Molla Celal, to jump a water canal. He himself cleared the broad canal successfully, then stood back to watch his friend. Molla Celal took a running jump, but alas, not being as athletic as Said, landed in the mud at the edge of it. [^29]

[^29]:Ibid., (8 th edn.), 52-3; "Şeyh Celal Efendi," in Son Şahitler, ii, 259.

#### Bitlis

Bitlis

Molla Said remained some while in Siirt, then, rather than continuing his journey to Baghdad returned to Bitlis and the medrese of Shaykh Emin. There, as before, the Shaykh dismissed Said as too young to understand anything. Unable to endure being treated in this way, Molla Said requested once again that he be given the opportunity to prove himself.

So Shaykh Emin asked him sixteen questions on various most difficult subjects, all of which Molla Said answered correctly and without hesitation. The Shaykh then set him a literary riddle in the form of three letters from the Arabic alphabet written without diacritical points. Said had to compose a twelve-word sentence using only letters of those shapes and adding the points. They contain a total of ten possibilities with regard to the points distinguishing the different letters, and twelve with regard to the vowels, making a total in all of one hundred and twenty. Molla Said found all those possibilities within three days and composed the sentence accordingly, proving once again his intelligence. [^30] He then went to the Quraysh mosque and began to preach to the people.

[^30]:Şahiner, Said Nursi, 58.

Said became very popular, drawing a large number of the people of Bitlis to listen to him. But it resulted in two factions forming in the town, those who supported him and those who supported Shaykh Emin. To forestall any trouble arising from this situation, the Governor expelled Molla Said from Bitlis, and he made his way from there to Şirvan. [^31]

[^31]:Tarihçe, 38.

#### Şirvan

Şirvan

As Said's fame grew so did his difficulties. Some teachers and lesser scholars whom he had previously defeated in debate constantly sought opportunities to reduce his prestige in the eyes of the people. They had him watched and followed, and one day when he missed the time for the morning-prayer and performed it late, they started a rumour among the people