cumspect; any such commotion allows our enemies to blow up things out of all proportion and to dismay and alarm us. Divine providence repulsed their scheme and protected us. But thinking of the considerable harm that would come to the Risale-i Nur's work and due to the trepidations and blows I felt in my spirit arising from that uncustomary and unforeseen event, I felt a distress I had never before experienced in my life and my nerves felt all afflicted with wounds. I was crushed by the involuntary grief I felt. Then out of His perfect compassion, on the second day the Most Merciful of the Merciful sent the truly devoted Nuri Benli, and Sadık Bey, the hero of Kastamonu, and Ismail, one of the İnebolu heroes, as a perfect salve for the distress of those spiritual wounds and a total remedy. And I received the good news in a letter from our brother Emin, who had gone to his native region, that Molla Hamza was alive although fifteen years ago I heard he had fallen as a martyr, and for whom I have prayed continually together with my other martyr students like Ubeyd, and who printed both Ishārāt al-I'jāz and the Tenth Word, and that he was now living in Iraq and was searching for the Risale-i Nur. This healed my wounds completely. I offered endless thanks to Almighty God.

We send numberless greetings to all our brothers. ∗∗∗

► (205) ◄

My Dear, Loyal Brothers !

Firstly: The time has come to relate to you a both strange, and sad, and subtle story from my life, to describe my enemies' slanders which are both vile and with which no Satan even could deceive anyone, and to show that absolutely no weapon remains to them to utilize against the Risale-i Nur. It is like this:

It is well-known by those who are familiar with the story of my life that fifty-five years ago when I was in my twenties, I stayed for two years in the residence of the governor of Bitlis, Ömer Pasha, on his insistence and because of his extreme respect for learning. He had six daughters. Three of them were small and three of them were older. Although I stayed in the same house as them for two years, I could not tell the three older ones apart. I paid them so little attention, how could I have done? Another scholar came and stayed together with me as a guest, and within two days he knew them and could tell them one from the other. They were all perplexed at my attitude and asked me: "Why don't you look at them?" I replied: "Preserving the dignity of learning does not allow me to look at them."