know when, due to my enemies' schemes, he insulted me during the festival in a fashion that was illegal in five ways. The matter was blown up, and the people generally might have attributed some rank to me thinking that it was a marvellous instance of wonder-working. So I prayed: "O my Lord! Either reform him or punish him but not in a way that looks like wonder- working." Here, I am going to explain something in this connection. It is like this:

Among the students' letters that were handed over to me by the court this time I saw one that had a lot of signatures on it. Perhaps it has been included in The Additional Letters. It was about the plenty experienced by Risale-i Nur students in their livelihoods, and some were about the slaps they had received. No doubt remains here about the slaps, just like those in Kastamonu. Five people received them in exactly the same way. [^36]

[^36]:Yes, we saw it with our own eyes and can no longer doubt it. In the name of the students here, Ceylan, İbrahim

One of the Risale-i Nur scribes asked: "Why do friends receive slaps while aggressive enemies receive nothing comparable?"

The Answer: Someone who is not an official and is treacherous, privately or personally, receives a personal slap. There are numerous incidents of this sort. And there are very many people who are completely loyal and receive bestowals in the form of plentiful livelihoods and peace of heart. But if a person is an official and acts maliciously and illegally in the name of the law, it leads to a general slap being visited on the wretched people; general disasters occur, such as earthquakes, drought, epidemics, and storms. Apparently the official does not receive a personal slap. Also, according to the rule, "Tyranny is not permanent, but disbelief is," if the tyranny of those people who cause harm to the duties we perform for the cause of belief on account of irreligion, becomes downright disbelief and thus grave, it is postponed to the hereafter; mostly their punishment is not dealt out swiftly in this world like with lesser wrongdoing.

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d   N u r s i ∗∗∗