loyally for eight years; they visited me in the name of the Barla Nur students. Truly I was as happy as if I had returned to Barla and those times. Mâshallah, Barla has begun to feel that it is the first Nur School; an earnest awareness and concern is being shown there. Haji Bekir, even, who had the Tenth Word printed, has taken on himself all the expenses and prevented the room I stayed in there being sold, and has sent news to Barla that it should be preserved as a sort of guest house for the Nur students.

I have received a short letter from the wife of our brother Hoja Sabri, the Nur Power Station, who like him has for years been a Nurju, and from his innocent son, Nureddin May Almighty God grant them health, happiness, and well-being. Amen!

It is strange that although there was need everywhere for rain, it was only in Emirdağ that there were heavy showers and an unparalleled hailstorm with hailstones as large as hazelnuts, all of which was extremely beneficial for the crops. The two Nurju brothers who are now with me say that the causes of the rain falling were both the arrival of the miraculous Qur'an, and the police chief reading Zülfikar and appreciating it although an assault was expected since a copy of it had been seized, and thirdly, three high-ranking officials called Ismail becoming students of the Risale-i Nur at the same time and spreading it. Numerous occurrences upto the present have established that the free dissemination of the Risale-i Nur leads to the raising of calamities, while its being silenced and attacked leads to their visitation. This has even been proved in court. It is understood that, in pursuit of their own aims, four currents, two internal and two external, have wanted to dampen the Nurjus' eagerness and spoil their efforts this stormy spring and to turn their attention towards politics and this world, and this resulted in the drought. God willing, an end will soon be brought to it. ∗∗∗

► (172) ◄

My Dear, Loyal Brothers !

Although it is opposed to my usual custom, a Nur student told me about an event that was reported in the official newspapers as having definitely occurred. It concerned the preliminary raining down of meteorites more terrible than the heavenly stones visited on the people of Lot, in a way previously unseen in human history, on a country that, on account of irreligion and through ghastly means, is driving millions of believers and innocent people to transgress the revealed religions and divine laws. I told the stu-