refrained from assaulting Molla Said, who then left at the son's request and returned to the Biro desert, this time alone.

Said was attacked twice by bandit nomads in the desert. The second time he would have met his end, but they recognized him and regretting their attack, offered him their protection on the dangerous parts of the road. Molla Said rejected their offers of assistance, and continued on his way alone until several days later he reached Mardin. [^39]

[^39]:Ibid., 41-2.

#### Mardin

Mardin

Besides his continuing success in scholarly debate, and in all his contests with the Mardin 'ulema, Molla Said's stay in Mardin was significant in several respects. But firstly an anecdote which illustrates Said's characteristic daring and courage.

While in Mardin, Molla Said stayed as a guest in the house of Shaykh Eyyub Ensari, a descendant of the Prophet Ayyub [Job], and began to teach in the Şehide Mosque, answering the questions of all those who came to visit him. One of the notables of the town, Hüseyin Çelebi Pasha, was so impressed by Said's knowledge and skill at debating that he offered him numerous gifts. But in keeping with his usual practice, Said refused them all, except for a good quality rifle, a repeater.

One day, Molla Said went out with a friend named Kasım, and suggested they climb the minaret of the Ulu Mosque to see the view. They went and climbed it. Then Molla Said suddenly jumped up onto the parapet of the gallery of the minaret, which was only about four centimetres in width. There he spread his arms wide and started to walk round the minaret. Kasım shut his eyes out of fear. Appearing from round the other side of the minaret, Said shouted out: "Kasım! Kasım! Come on, let's walk round together!" But shaking at the knees, Kasım descended the minaret and joined the people who had gathered to watch from below, wondering at the boldness of this intrepid young molla. [^40]

[^40]:Şahiner, Said Nursi, 63-4.

It was at his time, however, that Molla Said was, in his own words, "awakened" politically, and became aware of the wider issues facing the Islamic world. In a work entitled Münâzarat, Debates, first published in 1913, Bediuzzaman wrote:

Sixteen years before the [Constitutional] Revolution [of 1908], I encountered in the region of Mardin a person who guided me to the truth; he