► (108) ◄
In His Name, be He glorified!
May God's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you!
My Dear, Loyal, Blessed, Dutiful, Active, Steadfast Brothers!
Firstly: We again congratulate you on the month of Rajab and Night of Regâib, and in response to the congratulations of our brothers in Safranbolu, we congratulate them on the three months and the four blessed nights [^58] as well as their most serious concern for the Risale-i Nur. I wanted to change the titles and praise accorded my person in the letter of congratulation written in the name of the students there to refer to the Risale-i Nur, the same way that we modified some of Halil İbrahim's letters. I was going to include it in The Additional Letters, but since it so explicitly refers to my person, I could not manage it, so for now it has been left aside.
[^58]:The Night of Regâib (Ar. Raghā'ib) is the eve of the first Friday in the month of Rajab. The Three Months (Ar. al-shuhūr al-thalātha) of Rajab, Sha'bān, and Ramaḍān. The Night of the Ascension [of the Prophet Muhammad UWBP] (Ar. Mi'rāj) is the eve of the 27th of Rajab. The Night of Berat or Acquittal (Ar. Barā'a): a holy night, falling on the night between the 14th and 15th of the month of Sha'bān. The Night of Power (T. Leyle-i Kader; Ar. Laylat al-Qadr), mostly thought to fall on the 27th of Ramaḍān; known as the holiest night of Ramaḍān and of the whole year, as it was the night the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed. [Tr.]
My brothers, you should know certainly that I shrink from fame and renown, self-advertisement, self-dependence, and seeking the good opinion of others; I flee from them and I take no pleasure in praise and acclaim. Only, in so far as they are signs of loyalty to the Risale-i Nur and of sufficing with it, I accept some excessive epithets, and either for the sake of certain people or not to offend them, I alter them a little and keep silent. However, the two Flashes on sincerity and the principles of our way, that is, friendship, sincerity, and brotherhood, do not permit praise of this sort. Moreover, in this age of egotism and selfishness, fame may damage the unalloyed purity of the Risale-i Nur in the eyes of fameseekers.
Secondly: The Staff of Moses, Guide for Youth, and Short Words written by Hıfzı's two innocent children filled me with joy. What wonders God has willed! Thousands of innocent Nurju children like them will illuminate the future.
S a i d N u r s i ∗∗∗
