tool of nothing except eternal life, its surpassing power and truth may dispel the assaulting doubts and queries.

Question: Although it would not harm your sincerity, you flee from the luminous stations and ranks of the hereafter — which are non-material, acceptable, and harmless and which all the believers and reality desire accorded through our sincere brothers' high opinions of you, and which are established through incontestable proofs. But you flee from such ranks, not with modesty and humility but angrily and violently, offending the brothers who confer them on you. Why is this?

The Answer: Just as a public-spirited person sacrifices his own life to save those of his friends; so too, thanks to the lessons in compassion I have received from the Risale-i Nur, in order to protect the eternal lives of the believers from dangerous enemies, I would if necessary — and it is necessary — sacrifice and renounce not only those ranks which anyway I don't deserve but also the ranks of true everlasting life.

Always, and particularly at this time, and especially as a consequence of the general heedlessness arising from misguidance and the prevalence of politics and philosophy, and in this age of egotism and self-advertisement, high ranks subordinate everything and exploit them. Some people exploit sacred matters even for worldly positions, and they make use of them to an even greater degree for spiritual ranks. In order to preserve their positions in the public view and make themselves appear deserving of them, they make some of their sacred service and truths steps and means to them. They are therefore exposed to criticism and this lessens the demand for the truths they disseminate. If this is one benefit for the person, the general loss is a thousandfold due to diminished demand.

In Short: The reality of sincerity bars me from things which may be a means to fame and renown for me and material and spiritual ranks. This may cause considerable harm to the service of the Risale-i Nur, but since quantity is unimportant relatively to quality, as a sincere servant, I consider it more important to teach with true sincerity the truths of belief, which are higher than anything, to ten people than to give thousands of people guidance as a supreme spiritual pole. For since those ten men look on those truths as higher than everything, they persevere and their seedlike hearts may grow into trees. But those thousands of men may look on the teachings of the spiritual pole with sceptical doubts arising from philosophy and the world, and may think that they proceed from his particular rank and personal feelings, and the thousands may be scattered and defeated. It is in this sense that I prefer service to high positions and ranks.

Even, I was alarmed that some disaster might be visited on that man we