Ishārāt al-I'jāz and the Arabic Mathnawī, and this continued for a year. Then although my covert enemies, the Satans from among men and jinn, tried with their various plots to silence me, divine mercy bestowed the Turkish translations of both works and for the greater part, the Risale-i Nur taught itself, leaving no need for teachers. As a consequence, as a divine bounty, this extraordinary illness was a means of releasing me from my duties of teaching and of my taking a rest. It also occurred to my spirit that there are thousands or even hundreds of thousands of young Saids to speak and teach in my place. Through divine grace, the Risale-i Nur does not need onerous instruction like the other religious sciences. The wondrous prediction of Gawth Geylânî, "You are protected within the purview of Providence," [^72] appears to be exactly true both at that time and now. And now that enemies are becoming friends, speaking and meeting with people may well be the delectable, fleeting fruits in this world of our service which looks to the hereafter, It therefore should be made the tool of nothing lest maximum sincerity be impaired. Also, one should not interfere in God's business; divine determining ordained and permitted this severe condition, not against me, but for me. I appoint as my deputies my spiritual sons the youths who are with me and I have named in my will. I regard anyone who speaks with them as speaking with myself.

[^72]:Shaykh 'Abd al-Qādir al-Gīlānī (d. 561/1165-6). Lines quoted from a qasida which is included in the three-volume compendium of invocations of figures associated with Sufism, Majmū'āt al-Aḥzāb (Istanbul: 1311), compiled by Gümüşhaneli Shaykh Ahmed Ziya'üddin, and is quoted from here in the Eighth Flash. See, Turkish editions of Lem'alar. [Tr.]

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

Your brother,

S a i d   N u r s i

This illness our Master suffers shows that the covert atheists discovered a drug that prevents speech and they administered it to him. In short, we also see that he has been prevented from shaking hands with people, and meeting and talking with them.

Those who attend on him,

Tâhirî, Zübeyir, Ceylân, Hüsnü, Bayram ∗∗∗